


Wasting Time

by MonaBee



Series: Wait, what? [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: ANBU - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Sakura, Background Relationships, But not typical time travel, Canon-Typical Violence, Danzo is his usual dick self, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, M/M, Multi, Politics, Sai learns to be friendly, This was meant to be serious but I love these guys too much, Time Travel, Uchiha Business, Worldbuilding, but not really, is used gratuitously, later on, something, sort of like, therapy no jutsu, there is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-14
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-01 15:09:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 54,695
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5210525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonaBee/pseuds/MonaBee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sakura was not the type of person to linger over her own demise, but sitting at a dinner table with Itachi and Sasuke as her flesh and blood cousins she realises that perhaps her death should have been more thought out. Well, being an Uchiha instead of a Haruno couldn't be that bad, right? </p><p>AU Time-Travel fic in which Sakura is totally screwed over. </p><p>(Though isn't she always?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pianissimo

**Author's Note:**

> Hello potential new readers! This fic was originally an FF.net fic, but it's been pretty popular over there so I thought I may as well bring it over to a new platform. I hope you all enjoy, especially since this is the re-written version. It's a bit more gory and ninja-y (or at least it will be in upcoming chapters) than the original and my chronic tense problems will be eliminated.
> 
> Chapters here will be posted as I write/re-write them, but if you're interested in seeing the raw, un-re-written stuff that is the next four chapters after this you're more than welcome to do so. My username is MonaBee on FF.net as well, and the story name is the same.
> 
> Other than that - I do not own Naruto, never have, never will.
> 
> Also this is very, very slow burn on the romance front. But hopefully that'll be okay!
> 
>  **Warnings:** Completely AU from the get go. Rough approximation of canon up until the Fourth Shinobi War then diverges. There will be romance, but not conventional romance. I play around with pairings a bit.

 

* * *

**O**

* * *

**Chapter 1**  -  _Pianissimo_

_Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;_

_Thus unlamented let me die;_

_Steal from the world, and not a stone;_

_Tell me, where it is I lie._

* * *

**O**

* * *

Death was inevitable. Sakura had always known as much. How could she not, living the lifestyle she did? Yet, the idea of dying never plagued her. She had faced death countless times and won, persevered where others would have fallen short enough times that dying would probably be boring. Thus she had never given her death much thought and its happening sat as a blank page, with a single, dark, splotch.

Sakura – like most people, nowadays – died far away from home. Though exactly where  _home_  was could not be properly defined at this point in time. She did know that it was wet, and whatever she was dying  _on_ was muddy – much like her home when it had been definable – but the air was thicker and everything smelt off. Then again they had been burning bodies only yesterday, so perhaps she was closer to home than she realised.

She concluded that dying of blood loss wasn't the worst way to go. She pictured Iruka's mutilated corpse, hung across Naruto's doorway mere months ago. Split open between the ribcage, vital organs untouched. The medics present had said it had taken him hours to succumb to the wounds.

Of course since she was dying, her mind – traitorous thing that it was – had decided to remind her of every little thing she had done wrong in her lifetime, and left her replaying scenes from her genin days. Time with the original Team 7 and all the moments she had just stood there quaking in her boots while her wonderful, amazing teammates did all of the work.

The waves of resentment that washed over her at those memories nearly made her scream.

Instead she coughed, throat burning and blood spilling out of the corner of her mouth. A stomach wound – nothing more than kunai – and even as a medic  _(once Tsunade's apprentice, lauded as medic extraordinaire)_  she could do nothing. No chakra to speak of. And her yin seal? Well, if she felt like hurrying along her death she could always attempt to release it again. After the last time…

Kakashi, Naruto,  _Sasuke,_ the Chuunin Exams. Completely useless, a sitting duck under the meagre shelter that tree had provided. From the resentment rose fear, spreading ice from her heart, and the wound became numb. She had stopped applying pressure to it long ago, seeing it as a pointless exercise. Honestly, death was not being very accommodating of her right now.

The final stage, Sasuke's abandonment of the village, Naruto leaving with Jiraiya. Memories engraving themselves on her soul. Wanting to haunt her even as her life trickled away. A hoarse,  _"Stop,"_ wrenched itself from her lips, but it was of no use. Tsunade then, strict and hard, but warm all at once. Shizune, so kind and quiet and there for Sakura when she needed it. ANBU, those cold hard nights with Yῡgao, and then  _not_ with Yῡgao. Pein,  _destruction._

Her memories whirled, spinning faster as she sucked in a pained breath. Somewhere in the distance someone screamed in agony. It echoed against a similar scream in Sakura's head.

Naruto, still out there fighting because he always had the courage she lacked and the pig-headedness she wished he didn't have. Sasuke, with his lack of direction and sheer talent, helping them save the world for whatever twisted ideal he had latched onto next. Kakashi, so plagued by old ghosts that he'd seen himself in Team 7, going out there to avenge his teammates who deserved so much better.

She wasn't surprised that she was the first one to die. It was logical, really. She had always been the weakest link, and thus had been struck first. Still a toppler though, essential to the rickety tower of pencils that was Naruto's life _(and maybe, just maybe, Sasuke's as well)._ She felt like laughing, but even breathing had stopped being impossible without excruciating pain a few seconds ago and as much as she wanted death to just take her to whatever was  _after_ this, she still wanted to say her goodbyes. Just a few apologies and maybe a hug if she was feeling particularly masochistic.

She felt herself slipping away at last when a pair of oh so familiar blue eyes appeared above her own.  _Naruto?_ Everything sounded like static and her mouth felt as if it had been stuffed with cotton balls. He was saying something, something important, as tears streamed down his face. Sasuke was there as well, sitting just inside her peripheral vision, fist clenched and face scrunched up in fury. He muttered something under his breath before trying to get Naruto up. She attempted a smile.

_Don't stop now. You still have a war to win._

Naruto ignored him and held her face in his hands, touching their foreheads together lightly. She wanted to comfort him, but couldn't move at all.

_I'm sorry._

Her eyes started slipping closed and Naruto moved to sob into her chest. Sakura turned her eyes skyward, and the last thing she saw was the fleeting vision of a bird before her eyes closed and her heart stopped.

_Goodbye._

* * *

And as Sakura floated for that handful of seconds in a world unreachable to us, the figure of the Kyuubi stretched into the bloody sky.

* * *

It was quiet. There was a faint sound of shuffling feet and soft chatter but they were too far away for Sakura to distinguish. Her first coherent thought was one of confusion. She had not a single weapon on her person, something that hadn't happened since she had graduated from the academy. The bed she lay on was comfortable, the first she'd slept on since the invasion. She reached out her senses, testing the space, trying to tell where the hell she was and why her eyes refused to open.

Her chakra curled softly around the signature of another, though it wasn't familiar at all. She didn't panic. If Naruto had somehow managed to transport her to a medic camp there was bound to be unfamiliar medics around. Had it been Orochimaru who had collected her she would be underground somewhere, if not dead. Sakura kept her breathing even as a precaution, careful not to alert the people around her to the fact that she was awake.

A breeze blew into the room, telling Sakura where a possible escape route lay, and the scent was fresh with rain and growth. It had been so long since she had last breathed clean air that she nearly took a lungful. Footsteps paused nearby, a doorknob turned, and the chakra signature that Sakura's had been tracking stepped straight into the room. Sakura tensed slightly, but not visibly, allowing her eyelashes to flutter softly and give her a view of things she could use to attack if it was necessary. She saw nothing but darkness, and a tiny thrum of panic started up in her veins. She ignored it.

Instead she allowed more of her chakra to saturate the air. A hospital room, as she had guessed – one that felt so much like the old one's in Konoha that it puzzled her. There was an intravenous needle in her arm, which could always be used in an emergency, but more tempting was the innocently left out scalpel sitting on her bedside table.  _Perfect._

"Sakura-san? Are you awake?" A soft, warm voice asked. She froze, letting out a few expletives in her head at being so easily caught. It took her two seconds (slower than she as used to, slower than she  _should_ be) to be up, arms around the woman's neck with the scalpel pressed to her carotid artery. The intravenous needle had torn from her arm when she'd leapt. The woman's gasp alerted Sakura to a potential screamer, and she was quick to wrap a hand (smaller than it should be,  _too_ small) around the woman's mouth.

"If you scream I'll cut. You know as well as I do that you'll be dead in a few seconds if I do," Sakura said. Her voice came out in a pitch much higher than her own. What had they  _done_ to her? The woman nodded feverishly, and Sakura moved her hand. No words were said for a few seconds, "Where am I and why can't I see?" Sakura asked.

"Konoha Hospital," the woman – nurse – gasped out, "Your eyes were operated on. I don't have the clearance to know why!" Sakura tightened her hold unconsciously, feeling something a little like hysteria welling up in her chest. Konoha? Konoha was gone, no doubt. She had pulled co-workers out of the hospital rubble herself. The woman was lying obviously. Right?

But then, why was she so short? Why were her reactions delayed? Her chakra felt smaller, though no less controllable, and her hands were tiny. What if?

Pain throbbed from behind her eyes, sharp and sudden. Her grip on the scalpel loosened for a second, but it was enough for the nurse to take advantage. Her shout for help startled Sakura, and she felt herself being flung backwards, landing awkwardly on the bed she had sat on before. Footsteps rushed in, and her arms were held down for long enough for her to feel a prick at the crook of her elbow.  _Sedatives._

She quickly succumbed.

When she came to again, about half an hour later, someone else was in the room. Her chakra eagerly reached out for theirs, and Sakura was comforted by the presence. This one was a shinobi, definitely. Before Sakura could even utter a word a sudden panic - not unlike before - seized her out of nowhere, and she quickly found herself making a suicidal dash to attack the other person. The room was once again flooded by medical staff. Someone shouted out something to do with amnesia, and Sakura latched onto that conversation. It was hushed, even as people shouted and Sakura herself was being strapped back to the hospital bed.

"-sometimes caused by traumas that have a deep effe-"

"-long will it la-"

"-ay for sure but could be a lo-"

Sakura calmed her breath, despite the lingering want to run away as far as she could. She had no idea what was happening to her. Calm, cool, level-headed – Sakura  _never_ attacked unless there was legitimate reason. And yet her body had made the decision for her. At this rate she was likely to be shipped off to a mental institution. Still, trauma? Sakura had been through a hell of a lot in her lifetime. What trauma were they talking about?

 _Okay Sakura, there's a reason you're on good terms with Intelligence. Put the puzzle pieces together._  She thought about everything she'd heard since she'd last seen Naruto. She was in a hospital –  _Konoha Hospital,_ if that nurse was telling the truth – and had had a recent operation on her eyes. The pain could attest that there was a serious problem. Judging by the pain's location… maybe they had shifted in the sockets? What else? That boy had seemed odd. And the way Sakura's chakra had latched onto him was too weird to pass up. Coupled with her tiny body and high voice, Sakura was starting to see a worrying pattern.

The medical staff seemed to clear out as Sakura's eyes closed; after her having basically been attacked by one doctor with a wave of chakra meant to calm her. She was barely lucid now, but strained to hear what was going on. She must have gone under for a little while, because when she resurfaced, she was alone with the boy again.

"Sakura? Stop pretending you're asleep, _"_  He said, a touch of both worry and comfort in his deep voice. He had one of her hands clasped in his – she could feel that his hand was a lot bigger than hers was.

"Who are you?" She asked, voice raspy from lack of water. The boy stilled.

"Your brother,  _imouto,_ " He answered grimly. Sakura's brain whirred into motion. Imouto? She had no brothers, older or not. He had sounded sincere, so it wasn't a joke. What had  _happened_ to her? She was supposed to be dead for Kami's sake!

A few memories – not her own – flashed before her eyelids. The sharp edge of a kunai against her face, dark rumbling laughter, ugly smiles watching her as she screamed and thrashed. It was as if someone had dumped a bucket of water over her head as she realised what had happened. She was not herself any longer.

She'd heard of jutsu like this. Experimental things, ways to send someone back to a time they didn't belong in. They had never worked, and many had died in the process of testing. Such jutsu had been labelled forbidden for years. And for good reason. Going back to the past had too many potential repercussions. Far too many to try it.

And yet here she lay in a body too small for her, with a person who called her sister. Her name was still Sakura, somehow. A sigh passed her lips and she pushed herself up off of the bed, turning her head towards where the voice had come from. Jumbled feelings – some her own, others that were not – made their way into her voice. "My brother?" She whispered.

Strong arms wrapped around her thin shoulders and Sakura had to fight back both the urge to sink into the hug and the urge to pull back and run away. He smelt like Naruto. "Yes, imouto. I'm here now. You have nothing to fear," He answered, trying to sound brave. Sakura's body responded in kind and hugged him back, the boy's name flashing into her mind at the familiar touch.  _Shisui._ She'd heard it before.

A throb of pain hit her eyes again and she whimpered. Shisui pulled back in concern. "Do your eyes still hurt, Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"Hai," She took a breath, "Are the bad people gone?" She asked. She meant the ones with the ugly smiles. Shisui caught on quickly.

"They're gone." He confirmed.  _They're dead_ , he meant. Sakura nodded. Many a shinobi family killed for the sake of their kin. It was not uncommon for a family member's attacker to die. Shisui let out a breath, before picking Sakura up easily. It was clear that she was lighter than he'd expected when he picked her up. A small part of Sakura wondered how long it was that this girl ( _herself,_ now. She had to remember that) had been missing – how little her captors had fed her.

The nurse she had earlier assaulted came into the room. She looked over at the 'family' scene with what she assumed was a pitying smile. Despite how much Sakura hated pity, she wasn't going to voice it.

"I apologise for attacking you earlier," Sakura spoke up, her voice still horribly small, "I thought you were…" She trailed off. The nurse seemed to get the message. Sakura knew what it was like working with shinobi in hospitals. Most of them hated it. All nurses and doctors alike knew to keep sedatives on hand in case of the shinobi becoming violent. It was an everyday occurrence, especially for those that had just woken up after going down on a mission. Most still thought they were out in the field.

"It happens," The nurse said, "I take it that you're her brother?" She had obviously not come in again when Sakura had attacked the boy.

"Yes. May I take her home?" Shisui asked.

"There are a few things that need to be filled out, but her mother or father can come later in the day. Be careful with her and change the bandages once a day. If you have trouble we'll send someone up to the compound to help. She's due back here in two weeks for a check-up," The nurse said amiably. The scratchings of a pen on paper sounded for a moment, "Also, the  _other issue_ we'll inform you of later. Take care little one. I'm sure that you'll be fine in no time." These words were addressed to Sakura, and she couldn't help but be surprised. Even after being attacked by her, the nurse still worried after Sakura's safety.

"Thank you very much, nurse-san." Sakura said, and Shisui thanked her as well before walking to the other side of the room and jumping through the window.

Warm air and familiar smells hit her all at once, and Sakura became limp in the boy –  _her brother's_ – arms. She was  _home._ Home after so many years, so much fighting, so much  _struggling to stay alive._ She was not herself, no, but she was still there. That was enough for now.

How she wished she could open her eyes and see her village again. But she couldn't. And she still knew not why. She didn't dare ask, too scared that they would figure out the truth about her. Ninja villages were notoriously pernickety. She had no doubt that she would be hauled off to Intelligence, likely to never emerge. Still, maybe if she played her cards right she could glean some information from Shisui. How far back had she gone? A year? Fifty? There was no way of telling yet.

"Tell me about yourself, aniki," She said.

"I'm Shisui," his voice was light and warm, "Your amazing, talented, super handsome older brother." He said, completely serious. Sakura giggled, "You and I are pretty good siblings. When you aren't stealing my kunai all the time." He added that good-naturedly.

"Well, super handsome older brother, would you mind no running so fast? I don't want you to drop me," She grinned.

"How little faith you have in me imouto! The great Shisui would  _never_ drop a fair damsel such as yourself!"

His theatrics made them both laugh, and for a moment Sakura almost felt like she had found a small connection to her old world – even in the turbulence that was already throwing her around in this situation she was in. She deliberated as to what to ask next.

"Why didn't Tou-san or Kaa-san come fetch me?"

Shisui was silent for a moment.

"Tou-san is very busy at the moment. He and Fugaku-sama have been busy with the regular clan meeting, along with the other leaders. Kaa-san is returning from a mission this evening. I'm sure that both of them wanted to come fetch you but Uchiha traditions are important," He answered, "You do understand, right?"

Sakura nodded as her heart skipped a beat. Fate had never liked her very much, but this was ridiculous. An Uchiha? Of all the possibilities. She felt sick to her stomach at the thought of attempting to survive that clan. She could die again tomorrow for all she knew. Escaping the massacre as a child was nigh impossible. Especially in the state she was in now. Worse, she didn't know anyone whom she was related too or how to act like a typical Uchiha child. Or if she was a typical Uchiha child at all.

One last jump and the brother and sister pair landed softly on the ground. A few greeting shouts were thrown their way and creaking metal could be heard as what Sakura assumed was a gate swung open. Shisui let her down gently, and she was happy to find that her legs still worked, at least. Her hand remained firmly encased in his, more for her general comfort than anything else. She could already tell that he would defend her if need be, and that was enough for Sakura for now.

She followed along silently, feeling as if she was being watched constantly. She wondered of that was something she would have to get used to in the Uchiha family.  _If I survive long enough to get used to it._

A little warm feeling tugged at her subconscious, becoming brighter. Sakura turned her head in the direction she thought the feeling came from (she had complete respect for blind people now. Not seeing anything was difficult to cope with) and soon long footsteps accompanied it.

"Shisui-san! Shisui-san! Guess what I did! I was throwing my kunai and it hit the target! I really did it Shisui-san!" Someone shouted.

Sakura stopped breathing for a moment and her heart sputtered in her chest. She hoped it wasn't kind enough not to mention it. The footsteps came to an abrupt stop right in front of her.

"Well done, Sasuke-kun. You're getting better every day." Shisui said.

"One day I'll be gooder than aniki, just you watch!" Sasuke declared happily. Sakura couldn't help but smile widely at this. She seemed to catch Sasuke's notice, "Ne, Shisui-san, who's that?" He asked curiously.

"You don't remember my imouto, Sasuke-kun? It's Sakura-chan." Shisui said.

Sasuke tilted his head inquisitively, "Oh," He said, "Well I'm Uchiha Sasuke! And my aniki is the best aniki in the whole wide world!" Sasuke planted his hands firmly on his hips.

Sakura could only smile wider. How adorable little Sasuke was. She just wanted to cuddle him to death. "Well I think you're wrong about one thing, Sasuke-kun.  _My_ aniki is the best aniki in the world!" She laughed.

Sasuke pout was audible as he argued against her, but she could sense no malice coming from him either. It seemed as if Sasuke was a genuinely great person before everything bad happened to him. She felt the desire to keep him this way for good.

Sasuke grabbed her hand and Sakura realised just how small the child was in comparison to herself, who only reached Shisui's elbow, "Itachi-nii promised that he would help me throw shuriken today after he gets back from the academy and training with Tou-san. I can show you how good I am a'ready so long if you want Sakura-chan!" Sasuke said in a single breath. Sakura hear Shisui laugh behind her.

"Sasuke, Sakura can't see anything, remember? I'm afraid you'll have to wait until she's all healed up. So long why don't you two go to the lake and spend some time together? I'm supposed to go meet up to train with Itachi today," Shisui said and Sakura felt herself droop a little bit. She was being shoved off on a (admittedly adorable) child instead of being allowed to find answers. She did her very best to pout.

"But aniki-" Sakura started. Shisui cut her off by bending down to kiss her forehead before patting her on the back.

"I'll be back soon imouto. Sasuke, I'm entrusting you with a very important mission. Your job is to protect young Sakura-hime from any danger that might befall her. Do you accept this dangerous task?" Shisui asked. Sasuke bounced and gripped Sakura's hand tighter.

"Hai Shisui-taichou!"

"Well off you go then."

Sakura could practically hear Shisui's smirk when she was unceremoniously dragged away by Sasuke.

As she and Sasuke sat by the lake making daisy chains (which lake was entirely unknown to her, the Uchiha district was large enough to have several training grounds to themselves) she let herself drift away to muddle through thoughts.

Now Sakura had always been a logical person. She was used to piecing together fragmented puzzle pieces and finding a clear picture but currently she wasn't dealing with fragments. She was dealing with two completely different puzzles and had one piece of each in her possession.

First of all she wasn't dead. That was ultimately the strangest thing about all of this. She had died on that battlefield, of that she was absolutely sure. When Naruto and Sasuke had found her they were already a litre of blood too late to do anything for her. She could understand space-time warping jutsu, having dealt with her sensei's Kamui in the past. But this couldn't have been regular space-time jutsu, because she had landed up in another body, another  _life_ and there were no jutsu in the world that could achieve all of that at the same time when the person in question was once hundred percent fit and healthy (much less more than half-dead).

What she wouldn't do to have Shikamaru Nara to help her now.

"Hey Sakura-hime? Can you really not see or are you just pretendin'?" Sasuke asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She turned her head in his direction and winced. His reminder of the pain made it come back in all its throbbing glory.

"I really cannot see Sasuke-kun. I want to play with you, really I do, but I would probably end up falling into the water by accident and I wouldn't want to risk my eyes." She answered.

"So whaddaya wanna do then?" He asked. Sakura thought about it and grinned. Just because she could see didn't mean than she couldn't test her new body.

"How about we do some special training?" Sakura asked with a smile.

"What kind of special training? Are we going to do super cool jutsu?" He asked excitedly. Sakura shook her head and held out a leaf to Sasule. A few seconds passed before he took the leaf and Sakura could imagine a miniature frown on his chubby face. She remembered how fat faced Sasuke had been, back before the massacre.

"Time for a short lesson, Sasuke-kun. You know what chakra is right?"

"Hai, Sakura-chan."

"Well all you gotta do is find your chakra. It should be right here," she said, poking his stomach and making him giggle, "Then when your tummy feels all fuzzy and warm try and move that feeling to your hand. If you can do that then the next part is easy."

Sakura held up her hand to demonstrate. A warm, familiar feeling enveloped it and Sasuke gasped softly, scooting closer to have a better look. "You can stick the leaf to your hand with chakra, like this," she said, plucking a leaf from the ground and holding it in from of her palm. It was drawn to the chakra like a magnet and stuck on fast, "Too much chakra and the leaf'll burn. Too little and it'll fall off. Ready to give it a try?"

"Yeah!" Sasuke quickly set about doing the task. Sakura had never envisioned that Sasuke had been a happy child, but seeing him as he was had changed her opinion very quickly. Her dim memories of Sasuke as a child included him eating tomatoes as if they were apples and talking about his brother. Sakura wondered when it was that she would meet this brother whom she had been taught to fear her whole life.

Sakura left the boy to his own devices, hearing little cries of both success and disappointment at regular intervals. Meanwhile she had traipsed down to the water edge and grabbed a couple of stones. They were tiny, sitting in her palm, and Sakura concentrated softly so that one of them hovered an inch above her skin. It was a slightly more difficult exercise than water-walking was, and less likely to be thought of as strange if someone happened to see her do it. Especially considering her approximated age. She guided the rock in a spiralling motion around her arm and through her fingers slowly at first and then faster, adding a couple each time. It was almost like juggling but not quite.

"Woah Sakura-hime that's so cool!" Sasuke shouted, clattering towards her – nothing like the stoic, silent assassin he was in her time. His voice startled Sakura and one rock shot right past her elbow, thudding dully against something behind her.

"Very cool indeed, Sakura-san. Chakra control like that is hard to come by at our age," A soft voice said. Sakura felt a tiny chill run down her spine but ignored it. She let the stones drop to the ground by her feet.

"Thanks Itachi-san. I'll take that as a compliment." Sakura said, turning to face Itachi.

"A pleasure. Mind pointing me in the direction of that wayward brother of yours?" He asked.

"I believe he went looking for you actually. Best to just wait for him in your usual place. You probably missed each other," She said, "Please tell him that he's mean when you see him." Itachi didn't laugh, but Sakura supposed that by his age most Uchiha had been de-laughitized to help with stoicism in funny situations.

"Will do. Also, well done with your kunai work otouto." He replied before vanishing, chakra signature and all. Sasuke grasped Sakura's hand.

"Woah, I think nii-san's jealous of you Sakura-hime! Isn't that so cool? I wish nii-san was jealous of me." He said, awed. Sakura bent down to hug Sasuke before kissing his cheek.

"There, now your nii-san has plenty to be jealous of. You got kissed by a girl before he did. Now let's go home. Would you mind escorting me to my house, my little shinobi?" Sakura said, grinning.

"'Course, Sakura-hime! This way!" Sasuke said, falling into his role of her 'escort' easily, dragging her along behind him.

* * *

Shisui Uchiha was fifteen years old, considered a genius in his clan and severely pissed off.

He had been on a month long espionage mission in Kusagakure, tired, worn out and missing home terribly. He'd received the message two days before his team was scheduled to return to Konoha and as a result he had nearly messed up a month's worth of work.

His little sister had been kidnapped, tortured until her Sharingan activated and then had her eyes stolen. They had recovered her and her stolen eyes within sixteen hours of her being declared missing but she had been on the brink of death with a kunai wound to the stomach and arm, as well as the removal of her eyes. She had been in the hospital when he had returned to Konoha, tiny and pale with her head half-wrapped in bandages and chords sticking out of her everywhere. He had been put on rotational guard duty for the Hokage because of his refusal to leave the village until he was sure Sakura would make it out alive, much to his father's disdain.

As he watched her patter around the room with her eyes still wrapped, occasionally bumping into tables and other objects he yearned to snap the neck of the bastards who had done this to her. Unfortunately his mother had already done so as soon as her daughter had been found, so he hadn't had the chance to take out his anger yet.

His father had made it abundantly clear that since she had awoken her Sharingan at such an early age (the youngest to do so, as far as he knew) she would begin proper training as soon as the bandages came off. Shisui had then directed his anger towards his power-hungry father and his never-ending quest for one-upmanship with Fugaku.

His sister had always been such a quiet and unassuming little girl. She looked exactly like every other Uchiha female – dark hair and dark eyes – and did what she was told to when asked. He knew she wanted to be a shinobi, not a kunoichi as most girls her age did. She had wanted to fight outright and now that she had the familial doujutsu there was no reason for her not to.

But something about how quickly she grasped chakra control and the hand seal system set him on edge. Most Uchiha children progressed faster than their classmates but this was ridiculous. By the end of week one of her out of the hospital she was playing around with minor katon jutsu and walking across the lake as if she had done it her whole life.

Whenever Shisui and Itachi happened to pass her by, Itachi would ask questions. Countless ones, ranging from 'when did you learn that' to 'teach me'. Sakura had been pretty happy to answer at first, but was becoming increasingly defensive and it irked Shisui more than he thought it should.

"Hey Itachi, why are you always asking Sakura so many questions?" He asked, before dropping to th ground and planting a foot in Itachi's stomach. The boy barely avoided it and Shisui used the momentum of the kick to swing himself upwards again and continue his assault.

"I suppose in a way I'm curious, but mostly because she's progressing unnaturally fast," Itachi answered in his usual monotone, thought there was a hint of frustration in there, as he had to block more and more often rather than dodge Shisui's punches, "You saw her Goukakyuu no Jutsu. She shouldn't have the control, much less the chakra capacity to perform a C-rank technique at full power at this age, much less in her current state." Itachi found an opening and took it, his hand blurring in motion as it went strike Shisui's chest. Shisui grinned, and easily twisted out of the way, letting Itachi's momentum carry him forward. Shisui wrapped an arm around the shorter boy's chest and held the kunai to his throat.

"I yield," Itachi said, and Shisui let go of him.

Shisui frowned slightly as he thought about what Itachi had said. Truthfully he had been thinking along the same lines for a while now, but he hadn't wanted to think that way. Now even Itachi was suspicious.

"Aniki! Itachi-san!" Sakura shouted, and Shisui looked up to see her carrying a basket of something (probably food) towards the two of them. He let out a soft smile. Whatever conspiracy theories he could come up with, she was still his little sister. Seeing her now made his heart clench a bit. She had always been small for her age, easily the smallest in her class. But she looked older now, somehow, more experienced and battle weary than a girl who'd never undertaken a mission should.

"Hey Sakura-chan. Finished practicing?" Shisui asked. Sakura jogged the last couple meters and stopped in front of them. She nodded.

"Kaa-san asked that I bring lunch for you two, since she knows you won't go back for food voluntarily," Sakura said, handing him the basket. Clasping her hands together she took a deep breath, something she only ever did when she was nervous, "Itachi-san, you don't trust me do you?"

Shisui froze and Itachi became stiff beside him, eyes narrowing just the slightest. Had she been listening in on their conversations? If she had, she'd concealed her presence so well…  _No chakra signature, no heartbeat or breathing…_

"Well you both know what happened to my eyes, I'm sure, since Fugaku-sama tells Itachi-san everything," She paused, "It was my fault that I was kidnapped." Shisui stared at her in confusion. As far as he knew Sakura had been tucked safely into bed when she'd been kidnapped.

"How was it your fault?" Itachi asked tonelessly. Shisui shot him a glare that he ignored.

"When those people took I was…" She hesitated, turning her head slightly and Shisui got the distinct impression tha she was checking fro any offending chakra signatures, something Itachi hadn't managed yet, "I was practicing on the training grounds. I only ever did it when you were away aniki, so that you wouldn't catch me sneaking out at night. Kaa-san and Shinji-sama were at the clan meeting that night and they told me to stay home but, but I wanted to be strong like you so I left anyway," Her voice was becoming quieter and quieter as Shisui's stomach clenched, "I was practicing Goukakyuu when I was knocked out. I'm sorry aniki." She stood with her head lowered an despite her covered eyes Shisui was sure she was crying.

He wrapped his arms around her small form and she hugged him back tightly. Itachi stood there awkwardly, staring at nothing in particular. Shisui smiled at her even though he knew she couldn't see his smile.

"It's okay imouto, I'm sorry that I haven't been here to help you with training. Maybe once your eyes are better you can train with Itachi and I on a regular basis. How's about that?" Shisui asked.

"Wait a minute I never agreed to that-" Itachi started.

"Okay! Thank you aniki! I'll go practice really hard now so that I'll be a good enough challenge for you and Itachi-san!" Sakura exclaimed, before hurrying off. Itachi kept his face passive but Shisui grinned. It was obvious he wasn't pleased by the arrangement.

"Oi Itachi, why do you dislike my sister so much?" Shisui asked good-naturedly. Itachi fixed him with his trademark blank look.

"Hn, she's annoying."

Sakura stretched and yawned, turning her head towards where she knew a window was. It was her last day of having the bandages on yesterday and today Misori-san would take her to the hospital to have them removed and her eyes checked over. When she had first arrived at her 'home' Sakura had panicked thoroughly, keeping her head down and being as quiet as possible.

Her 'father' hadn't even asked how she was doing, something she had a feeling he was want to do with anyone he considered unworthy of his attention. At least her 'mother' had seemed concerned for her well-being and had taken care of her. It pained her how much Misori reminded her of her  _real_ mother, who was long dead.

Sakura had gone to bed early her first night, careful to be polite, and had drifted into a restless sleep quickly. Nightmares had plagued her, images from the war ingrained into her mind, playing over in perfect clarity. She had woken at the crack of dawn, covered in sweat with a new set of memories flickering in the back of her head.

She found herself acting on instinct more often than not for the first three days of her tentative new existence. The unfamiliar stature was annoying her to no end. It was one thing to grow up, but another thing altogether to suddenly shrink. Growing up was gradual, but this was akin to taking a shower just as the hot water ran out. Being a seventeen year old stuck in the body of a six year old was not fun in any kind of way. She had to be led around by a servant girl named Miya who barely talked and seemed terrified of her for no visible reason (pun intended).

Her only bright spot had been Sasuke, who was brilliantly smart for a three year old. He was always more than happy to relieve Miya of her duty and to take Sakura on adventures around the district. Apparently after the kidnapping incident security around the Uchiha had been tightened and anyone who was not yet a genin or under the age of twelve had to have adult supervision when leaving the district. Still, Sasuke had more than enough imagination to keep the two of them suitably occupied. And Sasuke insisted on calling her Sakura-hime in every game, despite how much she had told him not to. It was slightly surreal to see what Sasuke might have been had the massacre not happened.

Another one of her many worries was the massacre itself. Having had been sent into the past she had to change it – make sure things wold never have the chance to happen. First things first, she had to make sure that Naruto didn't have so awful a childhood, then she would move onto bigger things. Getting Sasuke to befriend the boy would be her top priority.

It was no secret that the Uchiha weren't very welcoming of the topic of the Jinchuuriki. It would be an uphill battle to get Naruto to accept Sasuke's friendship and to get Sasuke to do the same. But she would try. It would hopefully work out in the end. Though with her luck she wasn't expecting very much.

Her new body's full set of memories had returned after four days and she wasn't surprised to see the pattern of paternal neglect in this Sakura's life. From a young age she had set out to be as impressive as Shisui but had always escaped her father's attention and acknowledgement. Having Itachi around hadn't helped much either as her father was pre-occupied with setting up the friendship between Shisui and Itachi. Eventually she had decided to take matters into her own hands, practicing at night when her brother was away and watching his and Itachi's training sessions when he wasn't. Then just as she was really starting to get the hang of it all she had to up and get herself kidnapped and nearly murdered for her eyes.

At least this Sakura's dream of being noticed by her father had come true after the incident. She had sensed his presence near her as she practiced what she could without use of her eyes. Mostly chakra control and taijutsu in good weather. Perhaps she pleased him with her progress, she couldn't tell.

She took a deep breath and left her bed, moving towards the window to open it. The fresh air calmed her and helped her think properly. Today she would finally see again and then she could start the promised training with Shisui and Itachi. It was strange how quickly she had grown attached to her 'family'. Shisui was a wonderful big brother when he was around and Sakura found herself genuinely feeling protective of him. Misori was a lovely women and Sakura found that she missed the touch of a mother immensely whenever she was around her.

And having Sasuke as her adorable younger cousin was more than a little bit disorientating. She enjoyed his company immensely though and he was so nice to her that she always found herself smiling in his presence. They weren't  _exactly_ cousins, but being as close to clan head as Shinji was they may as well be. The resemblance did nothing to stymy this.

Sakura unlatched and pushed open the window leaning out to feel the breeze across her face. She knew Miya would appear soon to help her get ready for the day but she was feeling a bit useless and decided to get ready by herself. Clothing was always set out for her in any case and thankfully Miya had ceded to her request for training clothes. She didn't bother doing anything elaborate with her hair and instead just yanked a brush through it before opening her door and bumping into someone.

"Oh! Gomenesai Shinji-sama." Sakura said, bowing quickly and awaiting her father's words.

"Hn, your mother is waiting for you in the kitchen. Do not forget your training with Shisui and Itachi today." He said. He stopped and she was about to answer when he continued, "How was it that you were able to tell who I was? Shisui is the same height as I." He said. Sakura swallowed and looked up at him nervously.

"I was able to tell by your chakra signature Shinji-sama. It is similar to Shisui-nii's but not the same." She offered. She awaited his answer impatiently, wanting to go and have her bandages removed as soon as possible. As used to not using her eyes as she was she was still anxious to have her sight back after such a long time.

"You are improving very much, musume." He answered. Nothing more was said and he moved away. Sakura ignored the coldness of his words and hurried herself to her mother. Miya met her halfway and helped her clear the last step. She had missed it once and crashed face-first to the ground.

"Kaa-san, may we leave for the hospital after breakfast? Shisui-nii promised to help me with training after I got my bandages off and Itachi-san will be angry if his training time is shortened." She called out. Sakura was genuinely excited about training with Shisui and Itachi. She wanted to see just how good the kid was at this age.

"Yes yes, calm down musume. We can leave as soon as you've eaten. It's bad to train without eating after all. How is your stomach?" Misori replied from the kitchen. Sakura grinned and sat herself down carefully.

"It's doing okay. It doesn't hurt when I stretch anymore. Could I go and visit the library tomorrow morning? Nii-san has patrols until lunch and Itachi-san never really talks to me much." Sakura said. Misori came from the kitchen and sat down for her own breakfast.

"Why doesn't he talk to you?" Misori asked curiously. Sakura heard the clack of chopsticks as her mother ate.

"I think he's upset that I get to spend more time with Sasuke-kun than he does. Or maybe it's just that he's jealous of my chakra control. Shisui-nii says that Itachi is not used to people his age being better at stuff than him." Sakura said, just a little bit smug. Misori laughed a little bit. Wait until Mikoto heard  _that._

"Well us women have always been better with chakra control than men. I'm sure Itachi-san will get over it soon. Besides you will be in the same Academy class when school starts up again won't you?" Misori asked. Sakura shook her head.

"Itachi-san is too good for our baby classes. He'll probably be put in the advanced class or something. And then Fugaku-sama will say he should be working more and Shisui-nii will have to make his training even harder." Sakura said. Misori hmmed as she finished up her breakfast. Sakura picked herself up and took her plate to the kitchen, using the wall as guidance.

"Come then Sakura-chan, I'm sure you'll be happy to have your sight back once again." Misori said, taking Sakura along and stopping only at the district gates. Sakura greeted the guards with a smile before hurrying after her mother. She was enjoying the warm sunlight ever so much. They passed some strangers in the streets and her mother's grip remained firm. Perhaps she was paranoid in case of another attack.

They reached the hospital in record time and soon Sakura was sitting in a doctor's office, swinging her legs and waiting not-so-patiently for her doctor to arrive. The door opened and she turned her head to the sound, loud footsteps approaching her. She clenched her fingers, wrapped in her mother's hand.

"Ah, Sakura Uchiha. I guess it's time to see if those eyes of yours are fully healed." The doctor said. He sounded soft-spoken and nice enough so Sakura tensed only ever-so-slightly when his cold fingers brushed her face and he undid the bandages. She kept her eyes clenched tightly closed, not wanting to jinx it.

"You can open your eyes now musume." Misori whispered. Sakura opened her eyes slowly, blinking to adjust to the brightness of the room. It was strange how everything seemed to be set on the 'high focus' option. Despite having her eyes closed for two weeks nothing looked even mildly blurred at all. She turned to her mother and gasped at how pretty she was. She had never seen a female Uchiha since before the massacre in her old timeline so it was a bit of a shock to the system. Despite her age Misori Uchiha was breath-takingly beautiful.

"Kaa-san is so pretty. I wish I was pretty like you." Sakura breathed. She didn't know where the thought came from and Misori smiled at her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"Thank you musume but you are far prettier than I. You may want to turn off you Sharingan though; it does put a strain on your chakra." She said. Sakura blinked. She had Sharingan.  _And I thought I was over this already._ She jumped off the hospital bed and rushed to the doctor's desk to grab a mirror and held it up.

 _I really am a different person altogether._ True to Misori's words her eyes glowed red, two tiny tomoe spinning in each of them. It was like staring at a picture of someone else entirely. Her forehead was regularly sized and her nose straight, with her short  _black_ hair curling around her ears. She blinked, hoping that the image would disappear and that plain old Sakura would be in its place.

"Um, Kaa-san, how  _do_  I turn them off?" She asked. The doctor laughed slightly and pulled out a stack of forms from his desk and began filling out information. Misori came over to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Close your eyes and imagine a light switch in your head. Then just flick the switch and you should be good." Misori explained. Sakura did as she was told and when she opened her eyes again everything looked fairly normal, not in the sharp clarity of before. She smiled up at her mom and Misori smiled back.

"Did it work?"

"Hai, musume. Let us go now, I'm sure Shisui and Itachi are waiting for you."

It was strange, walking through a Konoha that was thriving. Due to it being holiday for all the academy students there were kids running around everywhere. She recognized a tiny Neji and Hinata together with an older Hyuuga woman and nearly started crying. They looked so happy. To think, what would happen to them in the years to come?

"Sakura-chan?! Oh my Kami I thought that you were dead!" Someone cried out. Sakura found herself being squeezed half to death by a girl a few inches taller than her with brown hair. Judging by the dogs lapping at her heels she assumed it was an Inuzuka. The name 'Hana' flashed into her head and she hugged the girl back.

"I nearly was. Luckily my mom can kick ass so I'm not. It's good to see you Hana." Sakura said. Kiba's sister lifted her head and grinned, exposing her sharp teeth. She ruffled Sakura's hair and greeted Misori.

"So is it true that you got your Sharingan? Can I see?" She asked, biting her bottom lip in anticipation. Sakura looked to Misori for permission and she nodded. Sakura closed her eyes and when she opened them again Hana's smile widened. She leaned into Sakura and squinted.

"They are so cool! I wish I had swirly red eyes too." Hana exclaimed. Misori tapped Hana's shoulder.

"Perhaps you could accompany Sakura to training one day and see the eyes in action. I'm afraid that her brother is waiting for her right now though so we should get going." Misori said. Hana's face drooped slightly and Sakura found herself feeling slightly sad.

"She can really come watch Kaa-san?" Sakura asked hopefully. Misori nodded and both girls shared a grin before Sakura and Misori left. The rest of the journey back 'home' was uneventful. She didn't see anyone else that she knew in her future. She wondered if Sakura Haruno even existed in this timeline or if Sakura Uchiha's existence cancelled out SH's.

"Ah, Sakura-san. Your eyes are better now I presume?" An Uchiha her new memories registered as Uruchi said, smiling at her kindly, and Sakura returned the gesture.

"Hai, Uruchi-san. I feel much better now. How is the bakery going?" Sakura questioned in return.

"Very good Sakura-san. You should come and visit me more often. I miss you telling me stories." Uruchi said. Sakura nodded and Uruchi and Misori launched into a conversation. Sakura allowed her eyes to wander until she felt a chakra spike. She turned to see it's source, a brooding six year old leaning up against the side of a building. Itachi caught her eye and motioned for her to follow him.

"Thanks for taking me to the hospital Kaa-san! I need to go train now, bye!" Sakura shouted already following after the boy. Itachi wasn't running, more like slinking away as Sakura had seen Sasuke do more than once in her timeline.

"You're late you know. Shisui refused to start training until you showed up, so you've cost both of us valuable time. Your eyes okay?" He asked. Sakura was slightly surprised. She didn't take Itachi for the kind of person to be concerned about anyone other than Sasuke. It was progress!

"They're fine, great actually. Sorry I kept you guys waiting. Hey you know if you frown you'll just give yourself wrinkles right?" Sakura teased, seeing how Itachi face seemed to scrunch up when she'd said her eyes were great. He grumbled as if he had been told that before. Well he already had the pronounced tear tracks so…

"You sure you'll be able to handle our training regime?" Itachi asked as they rounded the second last corner. Sakura huffed. If she could handle Tsunade she could handle anyone.

"Of course. I'm sure I'll do great. I mean, how hard can it be?" She said confidently.

This was going to be a breeze.

* * *

"Fuck." Sakura groaned as she threw herself down onto her futon. Her everywhere ached from training, especially her right shoulder where Itachi had managed to land a particularly damaging hit. After three weeks of Shisui's training regime Sakura was ready to just call it a quits and go into the baking business. She was sure Uruchi wouldn't mind taking her on as an apprentice.

Taijutsu days always got her. This body wasn't conditioned the way her old one was and didn't possess enough natural strength for her to do much damage to Itachi or Shisui. On the other hand they could do plenty to her and thus she always ended up in the worst condition after the training sessions.

Ninjutsu was better. She could almost keep up with Itachi and her chakra control remained superior. It surprised and delighted her to know that her chakra pool was quite large for a girl her age. Itachi still had her beat there but she more than made do in terms of her control. She didn't waste a bit of chakra on anything. Shisui was glad to find out that her second nature was wind, like both he and Itachi.

Considering the fact that in her past timeline she was a natural genjutsu type she was happy to find out that it was the same for her here. Even without her Sharingan active she found it very easy to detect and dispel genjutsu. She already knew the intricacies of casting them but never bothered to try on Shisui or Itachi. They could always tell with her.

So far her plans of improving the future were going pretty well. She had managed to get Sasuke to accompany her to the library and during their little excursion they had met a Naruto running through the village. The boys had been wary of each other, quite obviously but ultimately did what all young kids are want to do and made thirty minute friends. Sakura had promised Sasuke that they would go and see Naruto again when they had the time. So far no such opportunity had arisen, due to Shinji-sama being highly invested in her training.

Sakura hated having to learn such basic techniques all over again. Simple things like throwing shuriken and kunai were a lot harder when your hands were small and she found herself constantly misjudging her reach in taijutsu spars. After three weeks of being beat into the dirt she was just about ready to channel chakra into her punches and break Itachi's nose. At least her ability to focus chakra into her limbs was still available to her, despite the fact that she had to put a conscious effort into doing so.

But she was improving, slowly but surely. Conditioning this body was a lot easier than conditioning her old one. It was naturally built for battle, something she guessed was shinobi clan genetics, so it took to the strength and speed training a lot easier. It was odd, using katon instead of doton, and futon instead of suiton. Luckily SU's memories pulled her through pretty well and despite the lack of muscle memory this body had for hand seals she had gotten her seals up to scratch relatively quickly.

She had used the library trip to her advantage, checking out numerous medical texts. She didn't  _really_ need to study them as she had completed the basic medic training years ago but she didn't want anyone to be overly suspicious of her improvement. So she diligently spent her evenings studying medical techniques in her bedroom. Well, when she could move. Her mother was more than happy to buy her supplementary texts from the village.

Sakura wasn't sure when she had begun to call SU's family her own but it had become permanent only recently. Shisui was exactly like the older brother she had never had and always wished for. He made a point to defend her and teach her whatever he could and she always made him swear to come back at the beginning of every mission.

Misori was such a wonderful mother, much like her own. The best part of having her around was that she  _understood_  that when her daughter came back from training she would look horrible. She understood that she wasn't dressing to look pretty but to be comfortable. It was a concept her own mother never really grasped. The fact that her child could die at any turn.

Shinji-sama was another story entirely. She hated him thoroughly and cursed the man for what he had put his daughter through for all those years. It was his fault that she had gotten kidnapped. If her had just show a bit more approval of her, some attention. A lot could have been avoided and maybe this girl would still have her life, instead of Sakura.

She had researched multiple theories as to how and why she had ended up in the body she had and why in the world she had gotten sent back in time in the first place. Her most likely conclusion was shaky at best but made the most sense in the long run. When she had died her spirit must have been thrown backwards with some sort of space-time jutsu and latched onto the nearest dead body when she'd gotten there. And the nearest freshly dead body just so happened to be the one of Sakura Uchiha, her eyes just removed.

In her original timeline Sakura Uchiha was long dead by the time the massacre rolled around. Shisui would have mourned her death and blamed himself, that much she could tell. She just wondered exactly who it was that had attempted to steal her eyes that night. If her hunches went anywhere it would be Danzo Shimura. That was someone she had to get rid of as soon as possible. He was responsible for a large chunk of the disaster set to fall upon the village in the future.

"What's with that face imouto? You look like you want to kill someone." Shisui said amusedly. Sakura's eyes snapped up to the form of her brother in the doorway. He looked freshly showered and had an easy grin on his face. She shifted slightly and groaned, spreading herself out further.

"Maybe the person I wanna kill is you aniki." Sakura countered. Shisui laughed as he hauled her up from the bed. She dimly noted that she smelt of stale sweat and dirt. She really needed a shower. Shisui grimaced when he caught a whiff of her.

"Kami you smell awful. Go take a shower, Clan Head's visiting tonight."

The message to look as good as possible and impress Fugaku was received.

Shisui left her to get ready and Sakura found herself scrambling around for scrubs. She showered quickly but thoroughly and emerged pinker than she had entered with her hair lying limp against her neck. She knew she didn't have much time and just pulled her hair up into a towel before changing into the kimono Miya had laid out for her.

"Musume, are you ready yet? Fugaku-sama is nearly here." Misori called, popping her head around the door, and Sakura glanced at her as she finished tying her obi. Her kimono was soft and dark, making her look even more pale than usual.

"Nearly. Kaa-san would you mind pinning up my hair for me?" Sakura asked. Misori smiled and came into the room. She took a handful of plain pins and pulled the towel off Sakura's head before getting to work. Sakura watched wide-eyed as her mother transformed her hair. A small sakura blossom accessory was placed near her ear and Misori hummed in appreciation.

"There you go, oh I think they're here, I should go and greet them, come along Sakura." Misori said with a smile. Sakura got up carefully and smoothed down the fabric of her kimono, following her mother to the main room. She kept her back up straight and her expression blank. Shisui fell into step with her as they made their way down the corridor.

"You ready imouto?" Shisui asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be aniki." Sakura whispered.

They turned into the main room and were greeted by the entire Uchiha main family, along with their own parents. Sasuke hid behind Itachi until he caught a glimpse of Sakura and before she knew it he was hugging her enthusiastically.

"Sakura-hime! I missed you. Your mom is really pretty. Can you take me to the playground tomorrow? Pretty please, my aniki always wants to train and now he's stolen you from me and we never spend any time together anymore." Sasuke managed all in one breath. While Misori and Mikoto looked on fondly at the scene Fugaku looked thoroughly disgusted. Shinji kept a blank face though his disapproval was obvious. Sakura bent down and placed a kiss on Sasuke's forehead.

"Tomorrow I have my first day at the academy for this year but maybe this weekend I can take you with me to the library and we can stop at the playground on the way back. How does that sound?" Sakura asked. Sasuke pouted for a moment before smiling again.

"Okay Nee-chan!" He said. She smoothed his hair and got up, facing her father and Fugaku. She bowed to him politely and folded her hands in front of her.

"Fugaku-sama. It is a pleasure to have you visit us. I do hope you enjoy the evening." Sakura said. Shinji seemed pleased with her greeting and Fugaku turned his attention away from Sasuke and onto her.

"So you are the girl who has been training with Itachi?" Fugaku inquired. Sakura nodded.

"Hai, Fugaku-sama. Your son is very hard-working." She responded.

"You say hard-working instead of talented, why is that?" He asked.  _A question in every sentence._ It was obvious that he was trying to unnerve her.

"I admit that talent is an important factor in the growth of a shinobi but hard work must be acknowledged. One cannot reach their talent's full potential without hard work." She said. He seemed mildly satisfied with her answer and turned to Shisui, questioning him on his training and missions as a Chuunin. Sakura exhaled once she was out of the immediate spotlight and her mother smiled at her.

"Sakura-chan, would you mind taking Itachi-san to get some refreshments. He said that he is thirsty." Misori whispered. Sakura nodded and looked to Itachi who had his usual passive expression. They moved out of the room quietly, deigning not to speak. She wondered why it was she and not Miya who had to escort Itachi. Poor Sasuke was being left alone in the room of adults and she had yet to be introduced to Mikoto.

"My father dislikes you." Itachi admitted. He startled her and Sakura gave him a confused look.

"What?"

"I said-"

"Your father dislikes me, yeah. Why do you think that?" She asked, confused. Itachi shot her a look as they came to a halt in the dark corridor.

"You're taking away from my training time by being there apparently. He doesn't think you're worth training with." Itachi said. He made no move to indicate whether he felt the same way or not. Sakura scowled.

"Well he can take that thought and shove it-" Sakura started. Itachi's eyes widened and Sakura was unexpectedly pulled into a darkened alcove with a hand over her mouth. She instinctively extinguished her chakra signature and moved Itachi's hand off her mouth. She sensed the muted chakra moving closer to them, accompanied by a steady heartbeat. She focused her chakra into a ball in her chest, concealing her own heartbeat and allowed more of it to do the same for Itachi. The presence retreated into the kitchen and the other chakra signatures remained in the main room.

Itachi tugged at her hand, nodding his head towards the open window. They pulled themselves onto the roof before dropping down into the garden. Sakura dusted herself off and fixed her hair. Itachi looked around the small enclosed area.

"Okay, what was that all about?" Sakura asked.

"That was your servant girl who would have overheard your blatant disrespect and informed my father of it immediately, furthering his dislike of you and potentially getting you severe punishment." Itachi answered. Sakura blinked at him. He looked even paler than usual in the moonlight.

"You were looking out for me." Sakura murmured, The idea was so very foreign to her that Sakura was actually having trouble wrapping her head around it. "Even though I insulted your father." She added. She took a tentative step towards him. "Thanks, Itachi-san."

"Hn." Light illuminated the garden as the dinner party entered the dining room. Sakura and Itachi turned to see Mikoto at the doorway leading out to the garden. Sasuke poked his head out at them from the edge of screen.

"Aniki! Why'd you steal Sakura-hime again?" Sasuke said, sounding hurt.

"Misori is about to serve dinner. You two should come in now." Mikoto said, ruffling her little boy's hair.

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair, Sasuke being the only one who was really talking. Fugaku kept sending Sakura looks and she wished that she could tell him how rude he was being.

"So Sakura-san, I've heard that you have impeccable chakra control. Is that true?" Fugaku asked. Sakura paused, rice-ball halfway to her mouth.

"Well that depends who you ask, Fugaku-sama. I believe that it is always best to see for one's self the abilities of another. Word of mouth is terribly untrustworthy at times." She confessed.

"Aah, but what is your opinion of your own control?" Fugaku asked slyly. He sounded so sure that he had caught her that time. Sakura allowed her bangs to shield her smile for a moment.

"I am an aspiring frontline medic-nin Fugaku-sama. For that I need perfect chakra control. Considering that I am still only six it would be unreasonable for me to have such skills but for my age I have been told that my chakra control is pleasing. In my own mind I have yet far to go, if that answers your question." Sakura volunteered. Shisui snorted quietly next to her and Sakura allowed herself to finish her rice-ball. Itachi looked at her with a raised eyebrow and she was sure that her father was looking at her disapprovingly.

"A frontline medic-nin? Unheard of." Fugaku simpered. She caught the underlying tone of hostility.

"Aah, besides our own village's Tsunade Senju. Surely you have heard of the Legendary Sannin Fugaku-sama? Lady Tsunade is my inspiration, a goal so to speak. One I fully intend to reach." Sakura added. If Uchihas were so inclined to do so she was sure Fugaku would be sputtering at the head of the table. As it was he simply glared at her.

"And would you forsake your clan for such a goal?" He said smoothly. Thrown her under a cart. That was the correct terminology for what Uchiha Fugaku had just done. If Sakura was to be honest her response to said question would have been a resounding yes. It was  _always_ village first, unless it was Naruto or Ino.

"Gomenesai Fugaku-sama, but it seems as if you are implying that my loyalties are in question. I can assure you that I am loyal to my clan and to my village  _only._ "

"Aah, but that was not the question. I was asking if you would leave your clan to achieve your goals in life."

"No. I would not. As it stands I am sure that there is no need for me to do so, but should the need arise in the future I shall stand with my clan, not abandon it for my own selfish reasons." Sakura said. Shinji seemed satisfied enough with her answer but Fugaku still looked unsure of her. Mikoto and Misori shared a look while Shisui tried not to gape and Itachi attempted to remain passive.

"Tou-san, why would Sakura-hime leave us? She said that she likes me so I don't think-" Sasuke piped up.

"Be quiet Sasuke. Do not involve yourself in this discussion." Mikoto said sharply. Sasuke shrunk back at Mikoto's words.

"Don't worry Mikoto, the discussion is over. Let us finish our meal." Fugaku said. They ate in complete silence. Sasuke didn't dare make another comment and no one else offered up anything.

Once dinner was over Miya came in to clear the plates. It was awkward sitting there without anything to do. Sakura felt like getting up and excusing herself if only to get away from the room's tension.

"Mikoto, Misori-san, please go and help the servant girl in the kitchen. Sasuke, you may accompany them. I would like to have a chat with Shisui, Itachi and Sakura." Fugaku ordered. The three in question shared a look as Mikoto, Misori and Sasuke took leave. When they were gone and their chakra signatures were far from the room Fugaku turned to Shisui.

"I expect you to keep your focus on training Itachi, do I make myself clear? He is to be clan head after me and as such has needs for immediate training. There is no need to waste resources on lost causes. Shinji-san, I expect you to keep your daughter in line. She must know her place." Fugaku declared.

"I apologise Fugaku-sama, perhaps I have been too lenient on her." Shinji said.

"Hn, just make sure such blatant disrespect stops. Itachi, Sakura," Fugaku turned his glare on her and Sakura didn't even flinch. "You are not to interact with each other unless it is at a dinner such as this. You shall no longer train together. Sakura, if you want to continue on with this pitiful dream of yours you must do so of your own volition. I will not squander precious resources any longer." Fugaku said harshly.

Listening to Fugaku made Sakura understand, if only a tiny bit, how Itachi had managed to betray his whole clan. The man was quite obviously insane and not fit to be leading a clan. It was then that Sakura resolved to make sure Itachi lived long enough to succeed his father and perhaps lead the clan into a brighter future. This could not continue.

"Hai, Fugaku-sama." Sakura acquiesced. Nothing more, nothing less. She was not going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry or look upset. She didn't go so far as to smile, she didn't have a death wish, but she kept her face calm and free of emotion. They were dismissed and Itachi left without a word. Shinji sent her and Shisui to their rooms.

As she lay in her bed staring at the ceiling she wondered how things would go from here. Fugaku had made no mention of her staying away from Sasuke, only Itachi. She would treat it as a loophole and keep to her promise of taking him out to see Naruto. She would have to find a new teacher then, if she couldn't manage to sneak around with Shisui as her trainer. Solo-training wasn't strange for her. The three years without Naruto left her with a Kakashi who refused to acknowledge her existence and an immense need to prove herself. She would make do with the physical aspects of training but she was rather unfamiliar with katon and futon jutsus.  _Nothing a trip to the library can't fix._

She fell asleep and dreamt of the past and future all at once.

* * *

**O**

* * *


	2. Subito

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ao3 has been _giving_ me problems though. Finally managed to upload this after days of struggle. Hope you enjoy! The edit is quite a bit different to the original :)

Sakura stood in a straight line with the other children her age. Itachi was dithering at the front of the line after having being dragged off by his father to the academy just after dawn (most likely because Fugaku wanted Sakura nowhere near his son). She had kept herself inconspicuous and stood towards the middle of the line. There were not that many in her age group, easily half as many as she had had in her old academy class.

Hana stood directly in front of her, giggling about something or the other with another girl Sakura couldn't recognize from a bar of soap. Despite having good recollection of almost every person who happened to be in her clan, SU's memories were very limited with those outside of the clan, barring Hana Inuzuka who happened to be SU's best friend.

"Aren't you excited to see what classes we'll be placed in?" Hana asked, bouncing on her heels. Sakura wondered where the girl got all her energy from. She certainly didn't have the energy to be bouncing around this early in the morning. She missed being old enough to down a couple mugs of coffee a day. It was an unwritten rule that medic-nin were allowed to indulge in more cups of coffee a day than most sane people.

"I don't get what all the fuss is about. Won't we be in the exact same classes as last time? I mean only really special cases get moved. Oh look, Itachi was just placed in the advanced class. How totally unexpected." Sakura said, finishing her sentence with the well-practiced Uchiha snark. Hana pouted as Itachi moved towards the older and taller children's line.

"Aw that's too bad. I was kind of hoping he'd be in our class. Maybe we would have gotten into a genin squad together. Eh, there's always Haru. He wouldn't be too bad to be stuck with for a couple of years." Hana said. Sakura shook her head. Childhood crushes were something she got over a _long_ time ago. It was a little weird being subject to other people's again.

Before she had a chance to answer one of the teachers called her name with a slightly confused tone to his voice, "Uchiha Sakura?"

Sakura turned her head at the mention of her name and Hana, moved to look on curiously as well. The unknown Chuunin beckoned her forwards. When Hana gave her a 'what did you do' look Sakura just shrugged. She certainly hadn't tried to do anything particularly bad. At least, not yet.

"Yes sir?" She answered, jogging to the front of the line. He smiled at her polite tone and took another glance down at the list.

"You've been moved," He said, "Your father requested for you to be put into the advance program but the teachers felt that may be too difficult for you so you'll be placed in the upper-intermediate class for now and after mid-year assessments we many move you into the advanced class. Your new class mates are over there." He pointed to a line on the other side of the playground. Sakura nodded and kept her hands clasped in front of her. Her classmates were much taller than she was and kept giving her odd looks. They were only ten year olds but seemed to be insulted by her presence.

"What're you doing here squirt? Aren't you a bit small for this class?" Someone called. Sakura froze, her mind flashing back to those days of torment in her youth. She sounded like _Ami._ Sakura didn't look at her, focused on keeping herself calm.

It was so strange, to have to deal with her temper flux again. ANBU had gotten all of that right out of her system, but children's minds were more susceptible to tantrum. Thus Sakura (whose temper was already one of the more aggressive-aggressive ones) had to make a conceited effort to not turn around and punch this girl in the face. Unfortunately she didn't seem to get the message, and stomped loudly to stand in front of Sakura.

"Hey, I asked you a question. Are you deaf _and_ stupid?" Ami-sound-alike asked condescendingly.

Sakura looked the girl in the eye but didn't answer once again. She hadn't messed with someone in a long time, so this could be a good way to relieve her anger. The Ami-sound-alike growled and moved her hand to hit Sakura, obviously not used to be treated like anything but social royalty. Sakura caught her hand in mid-air.

"Gomen," Sakura said without a drip of sincerity, "I do not believe that fighting will be condoned outside of spars. Do not earn yourself a bad reputation on the first day." Sakura couldn't help but let a little bit of strength trickle into her grip, and the girl's face became redder. Sakura let go abruptly and the Ami-sound-alike hissed, holding her hand to her chest in pain. She turned and left, muttering angrily as she went.

"Fucking clan children think they can do whatever the hell they want…" She said while still within earshot. Sakura sighed. A common misconception in Konoha, that clans did whatever they wanted. It may have been true in the past, but from the Fourth Hokage onwards, there was less deference. At least for those who were not next-in-line.

"E-excuse me?" A voice sounded from behind Sakura. She left her train of thought where it was for later and turned to see who was talking to her now. She had a brief moment of confusion when she had to look farther up to reach their face than she'd expected to need to. The kid was probably the tallest of the lot, though with the hunched shoulders and hair hiding his face he looked like he was trying to disappear.

"Yes?" Sakura answered.

"Um," The boy stuttered, seemingly surprised that Sakura had even acknowledged him, "Th-that was pretty b-brave what y-you did th-there. Asira is really m-mean to everyone i-in our c-class."

Sakura smiled at the boy and held out her hand to him. He flinched away from her immediately, not even trying to hide his reaction. Sakura kept a frown off her face. Was he worried she would do the same thing to him as she had done to Asira, or was there another reason for his uncomfortable reaction?

"I'm Sakura," She stated resolutely, "What's your name?"

"Homaru," He said quietly, and didn't elaborate. Sakura nodded but didn't push him, for which he seemed rather grateful. They were called into the classroom soon after, and Sakura sent a flagging wave to Hana before the brunette disappeared into her own classroom.

The classroom was in utter chaos when Sakura entered it. Sakura struggled to force down her instinct to quieten the place. She was no longer seventeen. No longer the hospital's second in charge. These children wouldn't listen to her. Sakura stared down at her tiny hands for a moment and tried desperately to recall how six year olds were supposed to act. It had been so long…

That had been a painful time of her life. Before Ino, when Sakura was tormented day after day with no end in sight. She'd never understood why, not until later, _much_ later in life. There were some things she would have rather not come to understand.

Sakura let herself be jostled by bigger kids until she was in a seat. That odd boy, Homaru carefully took the seat next to her, and Sakura looked around – it was obvious that they were in the undesirable part of the classroom. Right up in the front where your sensei could see you.

A worn looking Chuunin came into the room with files under his arm and greeted the kids. He was to be her teacher for the next few years. How long Sakura wasn't sure. She could last a few days, a week if she was lucky. They could have her sent to one of the other 'academies' by tomorrow. She scowled at the thought.

The first thing they were told was that they were doing a couple benchmark tests.

"Nothing serious," Tsuzumi-sensei said, "Just to see how much you guys remember from last year." It was a bold-faced lie that Sakura could recognize. The tests were a cover for the weeding-out of less than performing students. Those ones wouldn't be in class tomorrow.

Sakura supposed that it was a necessary procedure, for the sake of streamlining and giving the best students the best chance they could get. But it was also an excuse to teach the _important_ children as much as possible. She should have figured out the system years ago, when she saw fewer and fewer civilian children in her old academy class, when many of them did tons better than Naruto could ever muster. It was unfair in a lot of ways, but at least Konoha tried to give civilian children a better chance than most villages. It was unfortunate that civilians just didn't have the right resources to teach their children well enough. Sakura herself had only managed to stay in the Academy thanks to her tactical brilliance. It had been her saving grace.

The system was quite simple really, and very visible to anyone who looked _underneath the underneath._ Those that managed to get through the entire academy process and got Jounin senseis, they were the lucky ones. Career shinobi, less likely to die in war, got better pay, were generally well-known. Sakura had been one of the few civilians to become one. She knew of two others in her age bracket, Tenten and Lee. The three of them had been astonishingly lucky.

The others? System shinobi. They died in the hundreds every year and hundreds more replaced them. They came from every inch of Fire Country, as faceless and nameless as the last one. They earned so little that they may as well have been waitrons for all the work they did. Sakura could remember in gruesome detail how many of them had died in the war. How many of them had had their treatment overlooked in favour of a Career ninja. There were similar systems set up in all the shinobi nations, but of all of them Konoha was the least harsh.

It was an awful truth, but a truth nonetheless.

Sakura had to avoid that at all costs.

But at the same time if she answered any of those questions with the knowledge of her seventeen year old self, a person who had been entrusted with political machinations on behalf of the Godaime, she would be in T.I. faster than she could blink. She had to tread carefully.

Sakura finished quickly, writing short and to the point answers that any Konoha genin could have written. They were vague and Konoha-worship-y enough to pass her. She was sure. When she looked up nobody else had finished, so Sakura turned her gaze to her sensei for a moment.

He was the average Chuunin. Nothing remarkable. But he was tenser than he should be for someone just sitting and watching a class. Perhaps he felt bad for the children who would not get the chance to pass? Sakura allowed a wave of sympathy for them to wash over herself before clamping down on it. She had to remember that she was fighting for a Career Shinobi spot just as much as they were. Just because she was a clan child didn't guarantee anything. Plenty of Hyuuga had been Systems, as Sakura had seen. She was fairly sure that the same thing extended to the Uchiha as well.

"Okay class, time up. Please proceed outside for the physical portion of the test." Tsuzumi said. A few kids groaned, muttering 'I didn't even finish' and 'I couldn't remember _anything'_ s in equal measure.

They were split up into two groups, before the drills began. There was a sprint first, and Sakura found herself side by side with Asira. The girl childishly stuck out her tongue at Sakura before moving into position.

"Watch me beat you into the ground, freak." Asira sneered. Sakura grinned.

"Not if I do it first."

Sakura almost leapt into the air with the force she used to catapult herself in front of Asira. A loud giggle escaped her, before turning into a full-blown laugh. Though Asira's legs were longer, and her strides the same, Sakura had no problem lapping the girl twice. This was nothing compared to what Shisui had made both her and Itachi do. Miles that left them panting and gasping for air, but ultimately proud of themselves. Sakura didn't bother running her hardest, but managed to easily finish the simple course before most students had even started their second laps.

A wave of disbelieving voices and claps spread through the crowd of kids. Sakura grinned heartily, the tips of her ears pink and adrenalin still slipping through her. _Oh,_ she thought suddenly, _this is what it's like to be a kid._

She had to say that she didn't mind it.

When Asira came panting in, red-faced and scowling, Sakura allowed a little bit of triumph to spread across her features.

Throwing came next, and Sakura topped the others easily. She knew she should have played it safe. Snuck in around the middle-high of the class, but she'd gotten a taste of the _genius_ triumph. Something she'd never really had the privilege of before. Everything in life had been hard earned for her, so this was something new. No wonder Sasuke had been so arrogant.

It was difficult not to be.

She managed to rein in her enthusiasm by the time spars came around. It was obvious people were expecting her to win, and her opponent (one of Asira's girls) looked both worried and resentful. Despite wanting to throw caution to the wind Sakura decided not to pummel the kid into the ground. That was certainly akin to bullying. And bullying was something Sakura truly detested. Instead she made it quick and efficient, and the girl was on the ground before she could blink. Sakura was still very slow in comparison to what she used to be, but she was certainly fast enough to defeat a pre-genin. Tsuzumi-sensei, however, would have easily been able to watch her movements as she ran.

Sakura sent her sensei a cheeky little grin, and he raised an eyebrow back at her. She knew she couldn't trust him not to report her progress to the Hokage, but she honestly didn't mind. She was done being the meek and mild Sakura of her formative years. This time there was no Inner to corral her more violent tendencies. There was only her.

She found she preferred it that way.

"You're r-really cool, Sakura-s-san." A soft voice whispered. Sakura looked up from the neat kanji she was painting and smiled at Homaru. He had stubbornly stuck by her side even as child after child had come to dislike Sakura. Unlike Sasuke, she held no painful mysterious side to her that held appeal. She was only 'the rookie of the year', someone whom they could never hope to surpass. Many kids went out of their way to insult her, but she brushed it off. Once you'd had Sai on your team, passing comments of one's appearance meant nothing.

"Thank you Homaru-kun." Sakura said, "But really, you're not bad yourself. In fact," she said conspiratorially, "I think you're _worlds_ better than all of those idiots." Sakura casually waved to everyone else in the room. Homaru's face went predictably red and he spluttered.

Going through the academy with the mind of a seventeen year old was terribly boring. When she had first landed up in her new timeline, she hadn't really understood the implications of _starting all over again._ Sakura found herself pulling a Shikamaru more often than not, and simply sleeping through classes. It meant she had more energy later to train, and it worked out for her. This was probably why most of the other kids disliked her so much. They had to work hard in order to retain their ranks, but to them it seemed as if Sakura put in no effort but still outshone them all.

Which was, of course, nonsense. Sakura did her fair share of training and then some. Though she was forbidden from training with Shisui, it was not hard to work by oneself. She missed the motivation she'd had with Itachi as a rival, but she made do. (Every now and again, Itachi would seek her out for a spar in any case, to see who had improved the most. She was still winning 12-14, but it was getting close.)

Sakura's dislike of the academy setup increased steadily as each term there were fewer and fewer in her class. Asira had managed to hold on tight to the coattails of others, but Sakura had a feeling that at the next set of exams she too would be shipped off to one of the mountain schools with the others.

It wasn't that the curriculum at the other schools was any easier than at Konoha Main, but Sakura knew that once one was sent there they had nothing to look forward to but an unglamorous career as a System shinobi that would end in an uninteresting way. Sakura's horror on hearing about the System shinobi vs Career shinobi system was profound. Before meeting and learning under Tsunade she'd had no idea how close she'd come to being paid less than a waitress and never rising above the rank of Chuunin. It was a system that _worked,_ but she hated it nonetheless. It had ensured that Konoha had plenty of shinobi to supply to the great army of the Fourth War, but it also meant that many people ( _children_ ) died unnecessarily.

Sakura sighed, and slackened the death grip she had had on her brush. Homaru was still red-faced next to her, and whispered a tiny thanks. Sakura exhaled. As long as she could keep those precious people of hers together, she could push through this.

After all, it was only two more years.

* * *

Sakura slipped her satchel 'round her shoulder and walked out of the classroom. Homaru slunk up next her, contrasting her in every way. The two of them must have looked comical. Her, tiny with dark hair and dark eyes and him tall and lanky with hair almost white and eyes filmy blue. Afternoon sunlight filtered through the trees and made Sakura feel sleepy. She had a ways to go to get home though, and had hoped to take a run today at least, but the warmth of a Konoha summer afternoon had her rethinking her plans.

"Sakura-chan, are you going t-to train this af-afternoon?" Homaru asked. Sakura lifted her arms above her head and stretched, feeling the vertebrae in her back click into place.

"I wanted to, but the sunlight is making me sleepy. I might just take a break to… day." Sakura trailed off, eyebrows arching in surprise. Standing at the gates to the Academy courtyard was Itachi, satchel around his shoulder and leaning casually against the wall as if he did so every day. Sakura couldn't help the twitch of a smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. Itachi looked up at her and managed the slightest of smiles – practically a grin for an Uchiha.

"Sakura-san," he greeted smoothly, "I was hoping I could steal you away for a spar this afternoon." He gave Homaru a once over, deemed him non-threatening and inclined his neck as a sort of show of respect. "Unless you had plans?" Itachi asked. Homaru looked terrified and Sakura elbowed the older boy in the side.

"Itachi-kun! This is Homaru-kun. Homaru-kun, Itachi-kun. Itachi is my, um, third cousin I think? He and my aniki are very close." Sakura said, nudging Homaru forwards to shake Itachi's hand. The clan heir slid easily into the role of a soft-spoken leader and greeted Homaru efficiently and warmly, leaving Homaru a little shell-shocked. He was entirely unused to clan politics and it showed in how he hadn't expected Itachi's fluid transition between roles. Sakura just rolled her eyes and adjusted her satchel.

"L-lovely to meet you!" Homaru squeaked.

"I didn't plan anything much," Sakura said, giving the poor shy boy a reprieve from socialisation, "so we could spar if you wanted. Or," Sakura said, as if the second option was the obviously better choice, "we could go out for dango, and you can explain the Advanced Cryptography homework to me since I missed a lesson." She had been hoping to ask Itachi about it, since he was pretty good at cryptography. Sakura's talents lay more towards the subtler arts. Poison and Bloodline Genetics. They took mostly the same Advanced Classes, so he would know what she was talking about.

Itachi took a moment to deliberate. "Okay," he said, "I wouldn't mind dango."

* * *

"Oof!" Sakura felt Itachi's fist plant itself firmly in her solar plexus. She was knocked backwards, and used the momentum to put more distance in between the two of them. She grunted as she landed, out of breath and aching from the punch. Itachi clenched and unclenched his fist in pain, trying to hide the displeasure from getting hurt. They were both tired, obviously, and their movements were getting sloppy and more like a brawl the longer the fight went on, but neither wanted to budge. Sakura ignored her body's want for medical chakra. She thought it was clearly cheating when she healed herself during a spar.

Itachi seemed content to just stand back and wait for her to move first, so Sakura did, leaping forwards to deliver a series of blows. Itachi parried most, but Sakura managed a glancing hit across his mouth and he came away with a split lip. He pressed her back, punching and kicking in the Uchiha style as Sakura dodged and slid past his blows. His foot caught at her ankle and she fell. Her back arched and her hands pressed to the ground to stop her descent. Her own foot came up in an arch, catching Itachi in the stomach and vaulting him over her. He copied her trick and caught himself in a handstand as Sakura jumped up and turned.

He rushed forwards as she spun, and her heel came up to meet his face. He grabbed her foot and spun her, pinning her to the ground, her face in the dirt. He had a kunai to her throat before she could blink.

"I win," He croaked, voice hoarse from the ragged breathing. Sakura nodded her defeat. Itachi moved his kunai from her neck and got off her. Sakura smiled to herself at his carelessness. She spun them around, swinging her legs across his torso and pressing his own kunai to his throat. Her dirty face shone with glee.

"Never trust the enemy Itachi-kun!" She said. Itachi narrowed his eyes and sighed, the slightest blush spreading across his cheeks.

"Fine. You win, again." He said. Sakura increased their mental tally – 16/14 to her.

"Ne Itachi-kun?" Sakura said, after the two shinobi-to-be had doused themselves in water and had a good drink.

"Yes?" He said, his hair still dripping. The two sat by the edge of the training ground, high up enough that they could see the sun setting atop the gates of the village. Sakura leaned back on her hands.

"You're really trusting sometimes." She said, the ' _too much'_ was left off, but still felt. Itachi didn't look at her.

"I won't make that mistake on missions." He said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. The warm sunlight made his face look as young as it should be, despite the age behind his eyes. Sakura wrapped her arms around her legs.

"I know." She answered softly, laying her chin to her knees.

Itachi was graduating soon, two weeks from then. She could see the tension in his shoulders, the lack of sleep. He was not doing well. Sakura knew he wouldn't willingly talk to anyone about it. Shisui, if he noticed, would wait for Itachi to talk to him. Sakura on the other hand was not so conservative.

"Talk to me about it." She said, then thought better, "If you want to."

Itachi stayed quiet for a moment and then opened his mouth as if searching for something to say. He closed it again. Sakura held out her hand to him tentatively, and Itachi's hand took it without hesitation.

"I killed a man." He said, so quietly it could have been a sigh. Sakura gripped his hand tight and reigned in the slew of questions that threatened to overwhelm her. Most of all, _why?_ Her mind drew her back to the trip Itachi had taken with Fugaku, out of the blue one day. It had been weeks ago, and extremely brief. Sakura felt her anger swell, and had to firmly keep it down.

"Okay," She said instead, "Okay."

"You aren't scared of me?" He asked even softer. Sakura shook her head.

"Shisui's killed people," She said, watching as he flinched, "So has Okaa-san, and Otou-san," She looked at Itachi's face. His face was rigid, and didn't betray him at all, but the tight pressure on her hand told her all she needed to know. "I'll kill people one day too. Because that's my job, my duty. We kill people so that our family, our friends, our _village_ don't get hurt."

Itachi turned away and took a breath.

"Yes." He said simply.

Sakura gave him a reassuring smile.

"You can still hate it though." She said, and the slightest touch of a smile played on his swollen lip.

They walked home with hands still clasped.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun, what are you doing?" Sakura asked, looking at the two boys who were hanging upside down from the playground's jungle gym. Sasuke looked a bit woozy and Naruto was slowly slipping off.

"Naruto-kun said that if we hang upside down all the blood will go to our head and then we'll be super smart." Sasuke answered smugly. Sakura arched an eyebrow and turned to Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, is that true? You know that that doesn't really work right?" She said. Naruto grinned.

"We just wanted to im-im-press you with our cool in- in- in-tell-i-gence." Naruto said, feigning innocence. Sakura smiled and pulled Naruto off the jungle gym. Considering that he was about to crash headfirst to the ground she was sure she was doing him a favour.

"Sakura-hime, me too!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura put Naruto down and pulled Sasuke off, spinning him around for a bit. He squealed before Sakura put him down and the boys began to chase each other. Sakura smiled at them. It was the first time they were seeing each other in two weeks. Sakura found that her new schedule was a lot more hectic when she had to do her own training and still work on medic stuff with Homaru. She had about half-an-hour until she was supposed to meet Hana for dango in the market.

"You're r-really good w-with kids." Homaru said from behind her. Sakura turned to smile at Homaru who was sitting cross-legged on the park's bench, leafing through the newest medical text she had procured for him. He devoured the books at a rate, confirming the fact that he wanted to know more than just field medic stuff.

"Nah, just Sasuke; and Naruto by extension. Other kids drive me crazy. Besides, we're still kids ourselves." Sakura replied. She went to sit down with him and pulled out her own text. He glanced over at her work and his eyes widened.

"I s-still don't know h-how you understand th-that stuff." He said. Sakura tapped her nose.

"Shush, I'm just a closet nerd." She said. Someone behind her scoffed.

"Not exactly hiding it are you?" They asked. Sakura smiled ruefully at Hana as the girl plopped herself down next to her. Hana took the book from Sakura and grimaced as she turned the pages.

"Geez, this is some intense stuff 'Kura. Homaru-kun's right, none of this makes any sense." She declared, Sakura laughed and snatched the book back from Hana.

"It does make sense - _in context_. I'm sure Homaru-kun could figure it out if he wanted to." Sakura said. Homaru ducked his head to avoid attention. She noticed that he had the same habit of trying to cover his face as she had had as a child.

"Eh, as long as you're doing what you wanna do. Did you hear that Itachi went on his first B-rank yesterday? Apparently he had to actually _kill_ someone." Hana said, switching neatly into gossip mode. Sakura nodded grimly. She had heard it from Shisui who was severely pissed that Fugaku had authorized the mission in the first place. Mikoto was equally as upset, stating that no eight year-old belonged on a B-rank mission. She was right of course, but Itachi Uchiha was in a league of his own. Itachi hadn't gotten back yet, but news travelled fast in the Leaf.

"Mhm, Shisui-nii told me about it. But it was three people, not one." Sakura corrected. Hana looked even more shocked and she dimly noted that Homaru looked a bit sick. He was so obviously disgusted with the thought of killing _anyone._ Surely his father noticed this?

"That's so awful. I'm glad I've still got four years, thankfully. You two are graduating this year aren't you?" Hana asked. Sakura nodded and stole another glance at Homaru who was trying his best to keep a blank expression at the thought.

"Y-yeah. But only if w-we pass the e-exam." Homaru said. Hana leaned across Sakura and punched the boy in the shoulder. He didn't flinch at Hana's touch anymore. He had gotten used to being around Hana, because where Sakura went, Hana always seemed to turn up.

"Yeah but we all know that you two'll pass. You're the smartest kids in that class and according to 'Kura you can throw just as well as Itachi." Hana said. Homaru's face burst into a blush and he shook his head vehemently.

"N-no ways. I-I could n-never be th-that good." He said. Sakura pursed her lips and looked at Homaru with a raised eyebrow.

"What have I said about self-deprecation? And Itachi isn't a god. He's an _eight year-old_. Just like Hana and I. I would know." Sakura said. Hana looked at her like she had a giant spider on her face.

"Itachi-kun _is_ amazing 'Kura. You're just too used to him because you're cousins and see each other all the time." Hana said, as if she won the argument. Sakura sighed.

"Forget it. Itachi is good, but we've got to focus on our own careers, not someone else's. 'Sides, I'm still gonna beat Itachi's academy records this year to prove Fugaku wrong." Sakura said, smiling.

"You really hate my dad don't you?" Itachi spoke from behind them, sounding resigned but not upset. Sakura felt Hana and Homaru stiffen next to her and she just sighed, turning to face the prodigy himself.

"Not really. He just, gets on my nerves sometimes. You know what I mean." Sakura said. Itachi nodded as he glanced at the medical tome spread across her lap. Its pages were old and crinkled but it was still a store of information.

"I'm glad you still follow your dreams." Itachi murmured, and Sakura smiled.

Sasuke and Naruto circled back towards Sakura until they caught sight of Itachi. Sasuke's face brightened and he rushed forward, Naruto lingering behind, not quite sure of the new big kid.

"Aniki, you're back! I missed you!" The younger boy threw himself at Itachi who stiffened as his brother hugged him before cautiously returning the affection. Sakura grinned at the sight. He was such a prude about public displays of affection. Sakura could recall Itachi's bright cheeks whenever Mikoto would kiss her son's cheek in public. Naruto sort of watched the scene in awe.

"Sasuke-kun, is that your brother?" Naruto blurted out. Both brothers turned to see Naruto, who stood there with wide eyes. Sakura cursed under her breath. She had been hoping to keep Itachi from knowing of the friendship.

"Yeah! Naruto-kun, this is Itachi-nii-san. Aniki, this is Naruto-kun." Sasuke said. He broke away from his brother to bring Naruto closer and Sakura got up, ready to intervene if necessary. She hoped Itachi wouldn't overreact. No matter how nice a person was it was stunning to see how their personalities shifted when met with the jinchuuriki.

"H-hello Itachi-san." Naruto said, holding out his hand cautiously, eyeing the hitai-ate with slight fear.

"Sakura-san, you knew of this?" Itachi asked, shaking Naruto's hand primly. Sakura froze as Itachi turned to face her. He arched an eyebrow, copying her signature quirk perfectly. "I assume it was you who orchestrated this friendship, knowing of the circumstances surrounding the child." Itachi seemed more curious than anything else, but Sakura would take no chances.

"Yes, I did. I am sure you are also fully aware of the fact that Naruto-kun is _just a child_ who has _no_ ulterior motives whatsoever." Sakura said, a little pleading in her voice. Itachi met her eyes and seemed to come to a decision.

"Very well then. I will take my leave. Lovely to meet you, Naruto-san. Let's go Sasuke." Itachi said. Sasuke looked torn for a moment, glancing at Naruto, with whom he was still hooking arms.

"Its fine, Itachi-kun. I'll accompany Sasuke home. I promised Mikoto-san that I would bring her some fresh flowers and Sasuke asked to come with in any case." Sakura said. She figured Itachi deserved the rest anyway, if he had only arrived back from his mission today. She turned to the 'we're so not watching this happen' group of her friends. "I'm sorry we didn't get the chance to go out today Hana, after school tomorrow maybe?" Sakura offered the young Inuzuka and the girl nodded.

"Nah, it's okay. Tell you what, all three of us can go tomorrow, eh Homaru-kun? Mitarashi dango is the _best._ " Hana said happily. Homaru nodded and packed up his notes as Hana got up.

"Come on then Sasuke-kun, you know what kind of flowers your Okaa-san likes best. Naruto-kun do you want to come too?" Naruto looked relieved at not being left on his own and nodded. Sakura picked the boy up, allowing him to sit on her back.

"See you f-for lessons o-on Wednesday?" Homaru clutched the textbooks to his chest and loomed high above everyone, including Itachi. Sakura grinned at him.

"Yep, we'll go over poison extraction and antidote making before class tomorrow. Say, seven-ish?"

"Sure." Homaru said. Hana waved goodbye and ran off with her ninken, Homaru heading off in the opposite direction. Sasuke grabbed her hand and Naruto gripped her shoulders.

"Are you just gonna stand there Itachi? Cause you look seriously depressing." Sakura said. Itachi sighed but his shoulders stayed stiff.

"Hn, perhaps I should accompany you to the market. It does not do to let a young girl wander alone after sunset." Itachi sighed. Sakura scoffed. The sun hadn't even set yet and she was more than capable of handling herself.

"We're the same age. But if you're really lonely let's go. The shop'll close soon." Sakura said. Itachi ended up following them. Sasuke chatted enthusiastically to Itachi about his games with Naruto. Sakura watched them interact. Itachi didn't do much more than nod and sometimes offer up a point when Sasuke got off track but she could see the ghost of a smile tugging at his lips. _Maybe he has a soft side_ _ **somewhere**_ _in there._

"Sakura-chan, are you Sasuke's sister?" Naruto had his chin on her left shoulder.

"No, but I am his cousin, Naruto-kun. We do look very alike though, ne?" Sakura asked. Naruto hummed. The sun was starting to go down properly, spreading pinks and oranges across the sky and making the village air cooler. Sakura had forgone Shisui's jacket (though after wearing it for two years she was sure it belonged to her) and now she was getting Goosebumps.

"Hey! Look over there! The flower shop's _closed_!" Sasuke shouted. Sakura looked up and her shoulders sagged. Mikoto wouldn't be _too_ upset with her but she had wanted to get them for the women as a favour. Just because her husband was a snarky little ass didn't mean that she had to be.

Itachi hummed, "Hn, we'll just have to go home the-"

"There's a small festival on in the inner village. They're _bound_ to be selling flowers somewhere down there. Come on, I don't want to disappoint Mikoto-san." Sakura said before he could finish. Sakura bounded off with Naruto still on her back and Itachi followed glumly, with Sasuke slung over his shoulders.

It took them almost no time at all to get into the inner village. The streets were alive with colour and sound. Sakura breathed in the multitude of different smells and grinned. She could probably find the flower stall with her nose. Itachi beat her to it.

"Down there, looks like they have Mikoto-san's favourites. How fortunate." Itachi said. Sakura sent him a look.

"Stop speaking like you're forty instead of eight. It's getting on my nerves. Just now I'll start calling you old man." Sakura teased. He gave no indication of amusement but Sakura assumed that he was amused, due to the sparkle in his eye.

"Whatever you say, Sakura-san. Come now, let us be hasty." Itachi answered. They moved towards the flower stall quickly and soon Sakura had an armful of sunset coloured roses. They smelt divine and she sniffed them shamelessly as group left the small festival.

"Naruto's asleep by the way. He fell asleep on your back." Itachi said, lowering his voice. Sakura nodded, altering their route.

"Yeah, his breathing evened out a while ago. I'm sure you also noticed that Sasuke is just about to fall asleep on _your_ back?" Sakura asked. Itachi nodded and they headed for the Hokage's tower. The secretary didn't even look up at them as they climbed the stairs. Sakura rapped sharply on the doors to the office and she heard a tired voice call them in.

"Excuse me, Hokage-sama. I was just wondering where Naruto-kun's apartment was. He fell asleep and I didn't want to wake him." Sakura called, bowing her head in respect. Sarutobi looked up from his work to view the two young kids in front of him. Sakura shifted nervously as the old man smiled at her.

"Aah, you must be Sakura-chan. Naruto talks about you a lot. And Itachi Uchiha, I did not expect to see you here, but of course Naruto mentions Sasuke even more often. You may leave Naruto here, Sakura-san. I will send an Anbu member to take him home." The Hokage answered, pleased. Sakura seemed wary of the shadows in the corners of the room but nodded, slowly sliding Naruto off her back and into her arms. He barely stirred and soon was on the back of a silver-haired Anbu she knew only too well.

Sakura had been wondering when she would meet the ever illusive Kakashi Hatake in this timeline. She knew that at this point he would still be in Anbu but this meeting was too chancy for her liking. She couldn't voice the fact that she knew him, for obvious reasons, but she wanted to make sure that this time around Kakashi would _re-connect_ with the real world.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." She said. He dismissed them and they hurried out of the office. Sasuke was fast asleep by now and Sakura had to keep from jostling the roses too much. By the time they finally reached the compound it was already seven thirty in the evening. The guards waved at them as they moved through the gates and towards the main house. That time of the evening people were still bustling about the compound, and Sakura found herself smiling happily at the sight. The path to the main house went through the middle of the compound, so it was often crowded, and seeing the family out and about was satisfying.

They reached the garden around the main house quickly, and Sakura walked up to the house with trepidation, as she always did when dealing with the main family. Itachi walked in carelessly but Sakura made herself wait at the door until the boy realised that she wasn't following him.

"Aah, you may come in Sakura-san." Itachi said, once he realised she was waiting for permission to enter, "Mikoto-okaa-san will probably be in the kitchen." Surprisingly he didn't take Sasuke upstairs immediately. Instead he turned into the kitchen as well. Sakura noted that Fugaku was in the other room but decided that meeting him would be inevitable and she simple walked into the main room. Fugaku seemed to stiffen in her presence.

"Good evening Fugaku-sama. I apologise for the intrusion, Mikoto-sama asked that I bring her some flowers from the village." She said, bowing gently at the waist. His eyes were cold as he surveyed her but he nodded for her to complete her task. Sakura took her leave at a leisurely pace. She disliked giving him the satisfaction of thinking he scared her, but she didn't want him to think of her as uneducated either. Mikoto smiled when she saw Sakura carrying her flowers.

"Aah, Sakura-san. Thank you for bringing me the flowers, it is much appreciated. Would you like to stay for dinner?" Mikoto asked, her hands deftly preparing the evening's food. Sakura shook her head.

"I apologise, Mikoto-san, but Shisui-nii just got back from a mission and Misori-okaa-san likes to have everyone home whenever he returns. If you would like me to, perhaps another day. I can never turn down an invitation to enjoy your wonderful cooking." Sakura said happily. Mikoto smiled as she put the roses into a vase.

"Ah yes, I would like to know about your lessons with Sasuke-kun, since he adores them so much," Mikoto answered. Sakura nodded and took her leave, avoiding Fugaku and roof-hopping home. She slipped through her bedroom window, careful not to tangle herself on the gauzy curtains, and collapsed onto her bed, pulling Shisui's jacket onto her in an effort to warm herself up. Her medical tome was flung to the side carelessly. The moment she closed her eyes a familiar presence made itself known in her room.

"Woah there, what have you been up to today?" A cheerful voice asked. Sakura perked up and flung herself at Shisui with a sigh. His arms gathered around her in a protective hug and his curly hair tickled at her nose. Sakura wasted no time.

"I missed you so much. Shinji-sama's been such a pain. How was the mission? You bring me any scrolls?" She asked. Shisui smiled at her and flicked the light switch. Sakura hissed at the light blinding her and gave Shisui a mock scowl. He ruffled her hair and flung himself down on her bed face first, groaning as he sank into her pillows.

"You know I want my jacket back eventually hey? Just cause I lent it to you once doesn't mean that you can keep it forever." Sakura huffed and pulled off the jacket. She felt strangely naked without it. Underneath it all she wore was a t-shirt and shorts and as comfortable around Shisui as she was she still preferred to remain covered up. It was one thing going around sparring in that outfit, and another one wearing it when out. Had she really not realised?

"Here, I'm sorry I never really gave it back it's just nice to have it with me when you leave for missions." She said. She paused, and gripped the jacket tighter, "You're applying for Anbu this year, aren't you?" Her voice dropped off a bit towards the end. Sakura was more than familiar with what a few years in Anbu did to people. It was terrible, but at the same time the village needed to take the missions and once Root was disbanded they didn't have much choice. Shisui squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

"I was kidding, you can keep it. It suits you better than it ever suited me and I'll have to wear an Anbu uniform in any case." He answered. Sakura sat down next to him and left the jacket on her desk. She swung her legs, frowning.

"Are you sure about joining Anbu, aniki? I mean, that's a heck of a lot of commitment and I'm sure that you know what goes on in there." Sakura said, "You could always try for jounin, at least then you have a choice when it comes to missions. I'm just worried about you." Shisui sighed and stared at the ceiling.

Sakura's heart ached when she thought of the things Shisui would be forced to do. It was barbaric, the sheer amount of blood you spilt as an operative of Anbu. She recalled her own short stint in Anbu. After her last mission it wasn't she who came home in a sealing scroll, but rather Yuugao. Her head sliced off cleanly. One moment alive and well and the next lying in pieces before Sakura. It had taken her all of a week to get over the horrifying scene, which was what made Tsunade take her off the Anbu roster in the end. She had become too desensitized. Killing was second nature and didn't leave her with any remorse after a year in Anbu. It scared her, what she had become. She prayed to Kami that Shisui would never end up like that.

Shisui sighed and brought a palm to his hair, "Shinji-sama said-" Sakura bristled as anger flared in her gut.

"Oh, of course. I should have known that our wonderful father was the one who made the decision." She said, voice rising uncontrollably, "He's such a fucking bastard!"

"Sakura! Language! If you're gonna swear do it softly so that he doesn't hear you.'" Sakura took a deep breath and calmed down a little. She huffed.

"Sorry, it's just that he's such an idiot! Him and his stupid rivalry with Fugaku. I'm _eight_ aniki. I don't want to kill people." She said, whining. It was precisely the kind of weakness she tried so hard to hide, tried so hard to get rid of. But in this situation, where her body and her mind were not in tune, it was harder to keep these little things to herself. Shisui wrapped his arms around her shivering form and she relaxed into the familiar touch. He smoothed down her hair and hummed softly.

"Don't worry about any of that. I will _personally_ make sure you don't have to kill anybody until you're ready, imouto. Now why don't we go downstairs for dinner?" Shisui said. Sakura nodded gratefully. She knew full well that no one was ever 'ready' to kill but as a child she would have felt thoroughly comforted by his words.

"Okay aniki."

* * *

"Rookie of the Year, Uchiha Sakura."

Thin clapping reverberated around the classroom, and Sakura dutifully ignored the few hostile glances sent her way. She bowed politely to her sensei and accepted her hitai-ate with a smile. In reality this wasn't that much to be proud of, as in her past she had been an Ex-ANBU Chuunin. _Then again,_ she thought, surveying the room and catching Homaru's encouraging smile, _last time I wasn't nine._

She was, unfortunately, still very easily the smallest child in her class, while Homaru towered over everyone. But behind eacher of her punches was _strength,_ physical strength unaided by chakra. It wasn't a good idea to reveal her chakra controlling techniques any more than she had already allowed. Besides, she was having trouble getting her Yin-Seal to work properly with the rate of her body growth. If it was not up to the task of coping with it it was probably best to wait a while longer.

Names were called one after another as her classmates accepted their burdens with varying degrees of fear and excitement. Sakura quietly wondered whot he first of them to fall would be, then dropped her gaze in shame for thinking so coldly. Despite their dislike of her these were still children who she had studied with every day. She didn't wish death on any of them.

Tsuzumi-sensei smiled proudly at the class, but not without a hit of despair.

"Okay everyone, now for the team assignments. Please remember that all of the teams were very carefully thought up and approved by the Hokage, and we all tried our very best to pair you with people whom we thought would help you grow. Not necessarily the ones whom you like. One last important thing," He said, and took a step back. The room sat, silent.

"You are now shinobi of this village. It is your duty, your mission in life to protect it and it's citizens with your lives. You serve Konoha, the great tree. You are the trunk, you are the roots, you supply the leaves with the support it needs to grow. Make this village proud of you, and be proud of this village. You are the best of the best, boys and girls, so realise that you are now adults in the eyes of the law and the eyes of your peers. It is up to you to prove that you have earned the title."

Sakura sat up a little straighter, and so did everyone else. She'd heard the speech countless times, countless ways, and it had always sounded so much like a death gong that she had wanted to block her ears. But just this once Sakura listened, and it made her breathing flow just a little bit easier.

Names were called, people left the room. A very pale Asira gulped as she was ushered out by an obviously Uchiha instructor. Sakura heard Homaru's name called, before a 'Hyuuga Hikaru', and then finally, thanfully her own.

"You will form Team 3."

Sakura sagged in relief. At least she knew one of her teammates. She looked to Homaru with a smile, frowned when she saw he was shaking softly. Kami, he doesn't even want to be here. She scanned the room to find the other Hyuuga with whom she was placed. It was strange that she was on a team with two bloodlines, as they usually spread them out to better compensate for the civilian kids.

A small wave caught her attention and she faced the boy. He was like any other Hyuuga with dark hair and white eyes, lacking the lilac undertones she'd come to expect from Hinata but with the black almost purple hair in any case. He had his hitai-ate wrapped around his forehead, bandages peeking out beneath it, _a branch house member_ , and wore a black long-sleeved shirt. He smiled at her slightly and she returned the gesture before turning to their sensei once again.

"Okay guys, you can go for lunch now and your Jounin-sensei will pick you up afterwards." Sensi said. Most kids flooded out of the room, screaming and shouting to high heaven but Sakura hung back, waiting until the room was mostly empty before descending towards the door. Homaru followed her closely, his off-white hair falling over his hitai-ate and his hands just visible in the long sleeves of his jacket. Her new teammate was waiting for them by the door.

"You are Sakura, correct?" Hikaru asked, stopping Sakura just outside the door. He was tall for a twelve year-old but still a few inches shorter than Homaru. He had donned a pale jacket since leaving the classroom and Sakura smiled. They had managed to match each other without even trying, and that was always a nice sign.

"Yes, and you're Hikaru-san. This is Homaru-kun. Pleased to meet you." Sakura shook the boy's hand and pushed Homaru forward to do the same. The pale-haired genin flushed and Hikaru looked at him with confusion when Homaru shook his hand too fast to catch.

"H-hi there. N-nice to m-meet you." Homaru managed. Hikaru nodded and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He looked momentarily unsure how to proceed.

"Would you like to have lunch together? I mean, all the other teams are doing so, so it might be a good idea." Hikaru suggested. Sakura smiled and linked arms with the boys, Homaru on her right and Hikaru on her left.

"Why not indeed?" Sakura said with a mischievous smile. Hikaru seemed flustered by her boldness as she led them to their new lunch spot and Homaru trailed along, grateful for his best friend.

Lunch was anything but boring. Sakura found out that Hikaru, while being a branch house member, had yet to be assigned the duty of guarding a main house member's life – something he was rather grateful for.

"I am so far into the branch house that I suspect they have little use of me. Unlike the higher up Hyuuga branch members both my parents are servants, so it's a miracle I made it this far at all." He admitted, words sort of gushing forth. He seemed embarrassed to have said so much, but Sakura comforted him.

"Well, for me I'm expected to keep quiet and become some official's wife, rather than anyone special, so I sort of see where you come from. It's not easy for the branch families or the main ones." Sakura said. He nodded, grateful for the understanding, and they moved on to lighter topics.

Hikaru found out that Homaru (and Sakura, to an extent) planned to become field medics. He thought that it was a great idea, noting that many teams of genin died unnecessarily. Sakura had been pleased at Homaru's progress with Hikaru, despite them having only an hour to become comfortable with one another. He had managed to talk a bit about himself, though hadn't said anything about the expectations given to him of his own father. However, she suspected that if all went well and they survived their first 'proper' mission, the three of them could develop something special.

Sakura watched as the other teams began to return and pulled herself up from the bench. It was surreal, knowing how much this bench meant to her. She looked to her right. The only path out of the village. Everything had happened at this bench. Including her first kiss (with Hyuuga Neji, of all people), her most hated goodbye and her last moments in Konoha.

She walked back towards the academy with her teammates on either side of her. She wondered about their future. Who would their Jounin-sensei be? And what was the purpose of pulling two bloodlines and an aspiring medic into one team? She couldn't see the logic behind it really but she would deal. Perhaps they would end up with a wonderful sensei that pushed them in just the right ways.

"Do you think that's him?" Hikaru pointed out a dark-haired man with his back to them, talking animatedly with Tsuzumi. He wore the standard Konoha Jounin-uniform and loomed over the already tall Tsuzumi. Sakura pouted at this. Everyone in her team would always be taller than her. At least in her past she had been taller than Naruto for a while.

The man turned to them with an easy grin and a hint of something unidentifiable in his eyes. Sakura didn't recognize him from any of the Konoha shinobi in her past. She knew every Jounin in the village, having worked closely with them several times.

As the man turned she noted his dark black eyes, making him look almost like an Uchiha, but he lacked the refined aristocratic features that her whole family possessed and his skin tone was several shades darker than most of her relatives, who despite rigorous training in the sunlight always retained the paleness. His black hair was spread wildly across the crown of his head, sticking up almost as much as Kakashi's.

"So you three are my newest little recruits ey?" He asked. He scanned over them, lingering a bit longer on Sakura, who stood tiny in between the two boys. "Aren't you a bit small for this?" He asked, tone strange. Sakura smiled. She held out her hand to the man.

"Uchiha Sakura, I'm eight. I would prefer it if you didn't patronize me, it's rude." She answered. He seemed surprised at her attitude but took it in stride and shook her hand, wincing when her grip tightened considerably. She heard an audible crack and let go, satisfied with her work. He looked at her impressed, and feigned a wince. Sakura couldn't tell from his posture, because all ANBU knew how to mask it, but there was something intangibly off about him that betrayed his past as an ANBU member. Why he had stooped to being a teacher she couldn't know, not yet.

"Quite a grip you've got their girly. You'll do fine. And you two?" He asked, moving on, but Sakura knew she had gotten his attention. Hikaru bowed slightly.

"Hyuuga Hikaru. Twelve. Nice to meet you sir." He answered politely. Homaru hummed.

"Kizumi Homaru. T-twelve. I look f-forward to w-working with y-you." Homaru held out his hand, unceremoniously grabbing their sensei's one and flipping it over, palm facing upwards before channelling chakra into his fingertips and applying it to the swollen hand carefully, mending the fractured bone. Sakura watched with interest, wondering how much willpower it had taken the man not to rip his hand away from the threat of intrusive chakra. He smiled regardless.

"Hm, I sure got the pick of the lot huh? Well I'm Shimura Yuudai, your new jounin sensei who plans on throwing you into the world of being a ninja at precisely five am tomorrow morning. Don't be late or you'll regret it." He said. He poofed himself away, much to Sakura's relief. She had definitely frozen at the mention of his name. He was Shimura. As in 'related to Danzo Shimura' kind of Shimura. How was she supposed to kill Danzo when her sensei was probably his kid?

Sakura certainly didn't recall Danzo ever having a son in her timeline. Then again, the only person who knew very much about Danzo was the Third, who died long before Sakura wanted to kill Shimura. Perhaps Yuudai died alongside his genin team. The team that she wasn't supposed to be on in the first place. She glanced at her teammates' sulking faces and wondered what fate had befallen them in her timeline. She didn't want to think about it.

"So what team specification do you think we'll get?" Hikaru asked. Sakura pulled herself back into the conversation and turned to him. Team specifications were important things, at least once a team hit the chuunin stage. Hyuugas were usually placed on tracking teams and she herself was a hand to hand combat type. Homaru, being the team's designated medic, was flexible enough to end up anywhere. The three of them together, however, spoke of a higher power's interference; judging by the fact that their sensei was a Shimura it was quite obviously Danzo who had crafted the team – though for what reason she didn't understand. Nor did she particularly want to know.

"I don't know. We're quite a mixed bunch. I'm our heavy-hitter, obviously with Homaru being our medic and you being a tracker. It seems eerily close to a Missing-nin track and capture team. Though we're only genin and those kinds of specifications are usually reserved for those in Anbu." Sakura offered. Even she somehow doubted Shimura would go to the trouble of creating such a squad among Genin. It was far easier to wait for them to mature and see if they were useful later.

"Th-then again, m-maybe we were h-handpicked early. I-I've heard o-of teams being c-created like th-that." Homaru said. Sakura tilted her head with a nod, and looked up to the dim afternoon sky with a sigh. The sun was sitting low near the horizon and Sakura felt a wave of weariness wash over her.

"We should ask Yuudai-sensei tomorrow, but for now all we can do is get some rest and prepare ourselves for whatever the hell he decides to throw at us." She answered. The boys nodded and they went their separate ways with quiet goodbyes. Sakura stretched as she walked home, hugging Shisui's jacket closer to her. His ANBU training started today and she wouldn't see him for a few weeks. She realised belatedly that she had skipped her own training before class. It would probably be a few hours until sunset and she could feel the need to move running under her skin.

She rushed herself home, waving briefly at the guards and offering a smile to those she saw. She shed Shisui's jacket once home, and pulled on a set of weights for her legs and arms, revelling in the extra weight. It made her feel like she still had the muscle she had gained in her original timeline.

"Kaa-san, I'm just going out for a run okay? I'll be back soon." Sakura called as she paused in the genkan.

"Keep safe Sakura-chan!" Misori answered, and Sakura closed the door behind her with a soft click.

Sakura enjoyed her runs. She always kept close to the village wall but managed to see plenty of interesting things on the way. She always particularly liked to stop at the top of a hill on the West side of Konoha. On it stood a lone Oak tree that was great to read a book in and she enjoyed watching people bustle around the village from its highest branches. She took ten laps around the village before stopping at the tree. She dumped her weights at the bottom and started climbing, feeling the cool breeze across her fevered skin was a blessing. Her head popped out of the thick foliage at the topmost part of the tree and she felt herself relax.

Konoha looked good, despite the Kyuubi attack only five years before. It was so wonderful to see a thriving village again, and she revelled in the beauty of it. Konoha was bright in the dying sunlight, the sky's multitude of warm colours bathing the buildings in a happy glow and the warm air rustling the leaves around her ever so softly.

"I missed you Konoha. It's so good to be back." Sakura whispered to her home. Her heart felt heavy with the knowledge of what was to come upon the village if she didn't change things around. If she could just stop the Uchiha massacre and keep the rebellion from happening then Orochimaru could be stopped without having to sacrifice Sasuke. The Akatsuki would be missing a key member and perhaps she could find the other members before they joined and get rid of them or convince them not to join the organisation. She was at a loss as to what she was going to do with Obito. Naruto had managed to turn his loyalty back to Konoha and get him to fight as a Leaf shinobi but Sakura had never been very good at convincing people of stuff. She wanted to save the shinobi world, but she also didn't want Obito to die before he had a chance to redeem himself.

She exhaled slowly, trying to calm her muddled thoughts. Where was Sakura Haruno right now? Probably sitting at home, content and with her family. She would soon start at the ninja academy. Sakura cringed at the thought of the bullying she would be put through. She had promised herself that she would not intervene with SH's life until she had befriended Ino, at the very least. She would not deprive herself of the warm friendship with the blonde girl but she would make sure that SH also befriended Naruto somewhere along the line. Even if she had to deal with not having Naruto as her peer any longer she would make sure that her past self would come to love the boy earlier on.

"Excuse me, but what're you doing in a tree?" Sakura felt herself freeze at the small voice below her. Oh how very ironic. The little girl stared up at her curiously, clutching a book her to chest. Her hair fell into her eyes, making her look remarkably like Homaru. But of course she wasn't related to the boy at all.

"I was watching the sunset." Sakura said, amused. She let herself down from her branch, noting the fact that the sunset had long since passed and that evening was beginning to set in. She wondered what the tiny girl was doing in such an isolated part of the village so late into the day.

"Oh, okay then." The girl moved forwards on her own, continuing down the hill and Sakura felt her heart break just a bit. She surged forward and gripped the girl's small hand. Bright green eyes turned on her in shock and fright.

"Isn't it a bit late for a small girl to be going home on her own? Come on, I'll walk you." Sakura said. Little Sakura looked wary of her, something older Sakura liked. She glanced at the hitai-ate displayed across her forehead and allowed herself to relax. Sakura found herself traversing roads she had been avoiding for two years. The memories lashed out at her and as she watched her younger self walking along with purpose and wariness and she wondered how she had ever become a Sasuke fangirl in the first place.

They arrived at her old home in no time. Sakura was wary of going up to the door but reasoned that just seeing her old parents wouldn't kill her. Little Sakura (whom Sakura decided to affectionately dub Chibi-Saku) unlocked the door without a second thought and led Sakura inside.

"Kaa-san, Tou-san, I brought home a ninja! She walked me home so that I would be safe!" Chibi-Saku called. Sakura smiled at her own naivety. It was remarkably adorable.

"Oh really? Well let's get a good look at 'er then!" Her father's head appeared from the doorway and Sakura felt her heart clenching. Kami did she miss them.

"Oh, well hello there. I'm Mebuki, thanks for taking care of our little Sakura. What's your name?" Her mother came out of the kitchen with Chibi-Saku on her hip.

"Sakura Uchiha, ma'am. It's lovely to meet you but I really should be going. My mother will be waiting for me." Sakura shook Mebuki's hand quickly before hurrying herself to the door and giving her parents no time to say anything else.

She found herself sprinting across Konoha rooftops, an indiscernible blur thanks to her speed training. She pass the odd shinobi, flashing her hitai-ate as passage and continuing on home. She vaulted herself over the district's roofs until she reached her home, dropping down to her doorway as soon as she reached it. She wiped the sweat that had gathered at her brow and grimaced. She wasn't tired exactly but she was starting to feel the repercussions of her training and felt suddenly breathless. She used the wall to support her as she entered her home.

"Ah, Sakura-san has finally returned. We can begin then." Misori said, looking concerned, but thankfully uninquiring. She almost threw herself down at the table. Shinji-sama wasn't there, thankfully. Probably at a clan meeting. Sakura downed her food before excusing herself. She needed a long shower to set her mind straight.

She found herself turning the shower onto its hottest setting and allowing the scalding water to turn her pink and raw. She slid down the shower wall, shaking as she pressed her face against the glass. She thought she had gotten over this, the precious people whom she could never be close to again. It had hurt to see her parents alive and smiling. She felt a sob rise in her throat but knew that the water running down her face were not tears. She hadn't cried since she'd left her timeline. She was well and truly broken. Her skin burned into the heat of the shower and she was choking on the steam but she couldn't bring herself to get up. _You deserve this_. She wanted to hit herself. _You just forgot about them. You piece of trash._ She looked up slightly, observing her reflection in the glass. Her long black hair and her dark eyes. She was no longer the bright and annoying Haruno Sakura. No, she was more like a ghost now, pale and just a reflection of her former self.

She felt herself start humming and realised she it was the melody to her old lullaby as a child that echoed into the bathroom. The shower started to cool and while Sakura was all up for some self pity she did want Misori to have a warm shower. So she pulled herself up, switching off the shower and looking at herself in the mirror. Pale skin and enviable features stared out at her. Old Sakura would have killed to have looked this pretty, but new Sakura hated it. It was a testament to the fact that she had changed, too much.

She barely registered pulling on her pyjamas and soon found herself on the roof, staring up at the fullness of the moon. It illuminated the entire compound, though barely anyone was there for her to watch. Her dark hair fluttered in the breeze, curling and wet against her back. Her eyes settled on the lone figure entering the compound. She knew who it was of course and couldn't stop herself from grimacing.

"Sakura-san."

"Itachi-san."

He sat at the opposite end of the roof to her, still in his blood-soaked mission clothing. His expression was grim and his hair in a neat plait over one shoulder. Sakura went back to concentrating on her own problems and felt herself tense when a hand touched her shoulder. He stood next to her, looking just barely menacing with his face draped in shadows.

"What are you doing up here?" He asked. Sakura closed her eyes and sighed softly.

"I could ask you the same thing."

"Have you ever killed someone?" _Yes_.

"Not yet." She said instead. He seemed taken aback at her answer. Probably expected a no.

"We'll talk when you have. So answer my question." He said at least. Sakura threw him a look and noticed the weariness in his shoulders. It was so very wrong, an eight year-old going through what he was.

"I'm just dealing with some feelings. You wouldn't be interested." She said, not knowing what to say even if she wanted to talk. Itachi slid down behind her so that they sat back to back. She found herself leaning into him subconsciously.

"You having boy problems already?" He joked. The idea was almost too laughable. She found herself snorting.

"I am the same age as you Itachi. I haven't even had a crush on anybody before." At least not in this timeline. She felt his disbelief.

"Hn, not even that white-haired friend of yours. You seemed more than close enough." He said. Sakura smiled and shook her head.

"Nah, Homaru-kun and I are just friends. I'm his sensei in a way."

"Who is your sensei in any case?"

"My my, aren't you talkative tonight? Yuudai Shimura. He thought I looked too young so I fractured his hand. Shut up pretty quickly after that." She said, knowing that both of them were just avoiding their own problems. Itachi didn't laugh but made a small noise of amusement. They were quiet for a moment and Sakura felt her eyes droop slowly. She was strangely tired, despite not having down half as much work as she usually did that day. Then again it could just be emotional fatigue.

"Who's your sensei, Itachi-san?" She asked after a moment. Her question seemed to catch him off guard. He tensed and she was sure that he was gritting his teeth.

"He's dead. I don't know who his replacement will be." Itachi said. He got up and disappeared. _Dammit, how wonderful. How was I supposed to know that?_ Sakura thought, wondering if she should go after him, but she figured he wouldn't want to talk about it with her in any case. _I'll tell Shisui, though._

She stayed on the roof well into the night.

* * *

Three months of training taught Sakura that while she was good for a genin, she still had a heck of a long way to go if she was gonna do half the things she needed to do.

As it turned out, Danzo had been behind the formation of their team and the placement of Yuudai as their sensei. The creep had suggested that a Hunter-nin team be readied for the future, despite the low number of Missing-nin originating from Konoha (not counting Orochimaru and his subordinates, of course) and Hiruzen had approved of the idea, unknowingly sending Sakura's team to their demise.

One botched mission that would have left all of Team 3's members dead was saved only by her presence and both her and Homaru's knowledge of medical jutsu. Danzo would have been sacrificing his own son in the venture and Sakura was willing to bet that because they had pulled through the future would have them asked to join Root.

The mission had been a simple C-rank (but weren't all C-ranks fraught with danger?) and involved delivering a scroll from Konoha to the Fire Daimyo. They have been accosted by several Missing-nin from Kirigakure who had gleefully tried to chop off all their heads. Yuudai had fought the jounin one and won but had come out with a broken collarbone and the three Chuunin accompanying him had proven to be too much for the three genin. Sakura had defeated her enemy in good time, barely realising that she had used her Sharingan in the process – filling away a few interesting jutsus for future use. Hikaru had put up a good fight as well, incapacitating his enemy and binding him. But Homaru's reluctance to kill had left him near defeat until Hikaru had stepped in to help, getting his lung pierced by a kunai in the process.

If it were not for Sakura both Hikaru and Yuudai would have died. In her past timeline this would have happened, Homaru never haven't learnt medical jutsu from her and the third member of their squad most likely not knowing any either. As it was she sent Homaru to do as much as he could for Yuudai while she carefully stitched together lung tissue and tried to stop Hikaru's lungs from giving out. He coughed up blood as she worked, the light fading from his eyes, but Sakura persevered until her chakra started giving out. She didn't have enough to complete the procedure and Homaru would be unable to do it properly.

He had managed to set the collarbone well enough that Yuudai could move again and Sakura found herself calling him over desperately.

"Yuudai-sensei! I need you to channel your chakra into my hands so that I can re-direct it to Hikaru's wound. Hurry!" She pleaded. Yuudai did as he was told and soon a steady stream of chakra was being pulsed into Hikaru's chest and the lung was repaired. Sakura moved on autopilot, disinfecting and bandaging the wound. She fell down, chakra exhaustion setting in soon afterwards. Hikaru would live, though the mission was a failure. She recalled Kakashi's old words of encouragement and smiled to herself before passing out.

When she woke up again she was in her bed at home, up to her chin in blankets with Homaru asleep next her, his hand wrapped around her own. He had pulled up a chair from her dressing table and leaned against it, using his hands as a pillow. Her throat was dry and she shifted slightly, waking the pale-haired shinobi up accidentally. He wrapped his arms around her with a sigh of relief. He was shaking slightly and Sakura dimly wondered what Shisui would say if he witnessed the scene.

"I'm sorry. S-so sorry." He whimpered. She brought up her other hand and patted his hair, making him grip her tighter.

"It's okay. I know it's hard for you." She rasped. He pulled back slightly shaking his head.

"N-no. It's all m-my fault th-that Hikaru nearly-"

"No. Don't ever think that. You weren't the one who stabbed him in the chest so it isn't your fault. He knew what would happen if he took that blow for you. We're a team, Homaru. That's what a team does. And he isn't dead. So I'm not the one you need to apologise to." She said sharply.

Homaru nodded slowly. He explained what had happened after she had passed out. Yuudai-sensei had carried Hikaru back and Sakura had been carried by Homaru himself who worried about her condition every step out of Konoha. She had been handed over to medical nin the moment they had reached the gates and released back home after just one night of observation. It had taken her two days to wake up more than intermittent, barely lucid periods.

"Hokage-sama wasn't angry with us. He was just glad that we all made it back alive. You really impressed him, hey? But right now you need-"

"Rest? Yeah she does. Now go on and scurry away boy." Shisui said, interrupting Homaru. Sakura turned her attention to Shisui's figure in the doorway and flushed. She realised how incriminating the scene could look.

"Aniki, you're home. I'm sorry Homaru-kun, but I think you need to go." She said gently. Homaru nodded, uncertain of the older boy. Sakura watched him pass Shisui in the doorway and smiled at the fact that Homaru was nearly as tall as her eighteen year-old brother. Once Homaru's chakra presence had faded past her sensing range Sakura slumped, planting her arms behind her head and blowing a stray strand of hair from her face. Shisui was at her bedside in an instant.

"You could have died you know." He said solemnly.

"Yeah, I know." She said, resigned. Shisui's gaze hardened.

"I'm serious." He said. Sakura looked him squarely in the eye and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were growing steadily greener every time she looked in a mirror.

"So am I. I knew what I was in for when I graduated from the academy, aniki. I'm not a little girl anymore. Heck, in Iwa you can drink as soon as you've got a forehead protector. Dying isn't that unexpected." She argued. Especially when you've already died once.

"That doesn't mean that you can just go around giving yourself chakra exhaustion for no reason! This isn't a game Sakura." Shisui said, almost whining.

"There was a reason, and a damn good one at that! If I hadn't tried as hard as I had Hikaru would have died, Shisui. I put my life on the line because that's who I am! Those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who abandon their teammates are worse than trash." Sakura burst. She recoiled when she realised what she had said. Shisui seemed shocked at her outburst, before narrowing his eyes.

"Have you ever met Kakashi Hatake?" He asked, suspicious. Sakura feigned confusion, but was sure that Shisui could see through it.

"Who the hell is that? And stop trying to change the subject!" She said loudly. Shisui groaned and ran a hand through his hair, sitting down on the chair next to her bed with a grim expression.

"I just worry about you okay? It's one thing for Itachi to be out there fighting Missing-nin but it's different when it's your little sister who's slitting people's throats. I just don't want it to end up being you with the slit throat." He stressed. Sakura felt her anger falter and she grabbed Shisui's wrist, looking him in the eye.

"Hey, remember when I was six and got my eyes stolen? I came back didn't I? I survived that, so I can survive a few years as a genin too. You just need to believe that I can do it, because your approval is important to me. Besides, I doubt that Yuudai-sensei will allow us another C-rank for a while after that mess." She said. Shisui wrapped his arms around her carefully and she accepted the warmth. He sighed into her crown.

"Fine, I trust you. Just, don't do anything too stupid okay? I don't want to have to carve your name on the memorial, ever." Shisui grumbled. Sakura nodded into Shisui's shoulder.

_I can't promise that._ She looked at their reflection across the room and felt resolve churn in her insides. _But I can promise that I'll never carve your name on the memorial._

* * *


	3. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was finished in October //sweatdrops
> 
> Sorry for the ridiculous delay. I spent a while dithering on chapters 4 and 5, wondering if I still liked the direction the fic was headed and wasn't sure if I needed to change chapter 3 to change them as well, but I decided to stick by my decisions and finally upload this. I hope it's worth it.

Hyuuga Hikaru disliked his current situation.

Mind you, he _was_ holding himself upright on one hand, balanced on the edge of a tank of the nastiest smelling stuff he had ever had the displeasure of being near. Shimura-sensei had just gleefully told them that it was a mixture of excrement found in the Forest of Death and leftovers from a recently shut down restaurant in the seedier side of Konoha that had been found to be cooking and selling things that they _really_ shouldn’t have. To his left Homaru underwent the same treatment, but was dutifully attempting to study while he was at it. Considering the crumbling state of the no doubt ancient textbook Hikaru could sort of understand why he was in such a hurry to finish it.

When first assigned to Team 3 Hikaru had only a very vague idea of both of his teammates, and only because one was the famed Rookie of the Year four years too young to graduate.  Both appeared, to the general public, odd and closed off. One boy a second generation shinobi and the other heir to more than two centuries of clan techniques. He had already been wary of Sakura, but after she had calmly fractured their sensei’s hand he had changed his assessment of her to ‘Dangerous, Handle with Care’.

Homaru intrigued him, being the only one who wasn’t so bound to tradition. He was obviously deeply invested in the medical arts, if his constant ‘book in face’ thing was anything to go by. It was fairly refreshing compared to the ‘kill or be killed’ attitude he knew he, Sakura and his sensei had learned to adopt. It may have put him slightly at odds within the shinobi community but Hikaru still found it admirable. For him it was expected, to grow up to be a fine shinobi and uphold clan traditions – and he suspected it was the same for Sakura – but Homaru had only his self-motivation.

Just ahead of their training were Sakura and Shimura-sensei having a friendly spar. Despite the bright midday sun beating down on them, and the complete lack of a breeze (which Hikaru was thankful for. At least he didn’t have to fight the wind) Shimura-sensei had yet to break a visible sweat. Sakura was flushed, and every now and again when Shimura gave her a second to breath she wiped the sweat from her face. She was sluggish now compared to her earlier vigour, and every time she landed on her feet he saw her wince more obviously.

As she jumped back again, this time doing a handspring to spare her injured ankle, she gave a sarcastic laugh.

“Damn you Yuudai-sensei. I’d say it wasn’t fair but nothing in life is so…” She said. Yuudai grinned and chucked blunted shuriken at her so fast Hikaru missed his release. Sakura’s eyes widened, and she just barely managed to dodge them, bending back at an uncomfortably unnatural angle. Hikaru thought he saw a glimpse of red in her eyes.

 “Now you’re getting it.” Yuudai called, effortlessly shifting out of Sakura’s strike range as she swung her limbs. Her dance was fluid and graceful, as the Uchiha style was known for, but with Sakura there was always that unexpected element – a harshness and power that made the air ripple as her hand missed Yuudai-sensei’s face by mere centimetres. His sensei’s hair was briefly blown back from the force of the punch.

Yuudai, in a movement so fast Hikaru missed it, grabbed Sakura’s wrist and twisted her whole body in midair. The air around the two of them flickered briefly, and Hikaru’s eyes widened when the chakra strings that weren’t visible before became bright in the sunshine. They wove thin paths down Sakura’s limbs, and crept towards Yuudai along the ground. Where they had touched him they seemed to impede movement. Hikaru’s eyes were drawn then to the kunai that impaled his sensei’s hand, where once it had looked he had grabbed Sakura’s wrist. Sakura coughed hard, and clutched at her own stomach where she had received Shimura’s other hand in the form of a stiff jab.

“I yield,” She rasped, and withdrew her chakra threads. She collapsed to her knees, panting harshly and pressing a glowing hand to abdomen. No doubt she had severe bruising. Yuudai pulled the kunai carefully from where it was in his flesh, and Homaru, pale faced, went over to help stop the blood flow.

“Geez Sakura, I’m surprised it took me so long to catch that.” Yuudai said, as Homaru carefully coaxed the broken skin to knit itself together. Sakura grinned, and wiggled her ankle experimentally, wincing as she did so. It was swollen, likely a sprain. She huffed.

“I was hoping it would last just a bit longer, but you registered it before the kunai even go to you. If it had worked the way it should have then I’d have definitely gotten your shoulder. I guess it’s back to the drawing board then.” She muttered. Instead of healing her ankle she pulled a neat compression bandage from one of the many compartments in her jacket and wrapped it. At Hikaru’s inquisitive look she elaborated, “There isn’t a need to heal this, and I don’t want to burden the hospital staff with a simple sprain.”

Once Yuudai had stopped bleeding and Sakura could stand, Shimura gave her a weary look.

“Genjutsu? Very Uchiha, but not very you.” He said. Sakura stuffed her hands into her pockets.

“Well they’re available to me whenever I want them, so why not? It worked pretty well, I guess.” She said, almost flippantly.

“Your chakra control is ridiculous. At your age you shouldn’t be able to climb trees, much less form and manipulate strands of chakra with varying levels of strength and different purposes. Something else you picked up at home?” Yuudai asked. Sakura’s face went tense, as it often did at the mention of her own abilities. For someone who was generally show-off-y she disliked people’s questions. Shinobi were of course allowed their secrets, but all jutsu were to be approved by the Hokage office before use against others, and if this was something untested that she was trying out in training…

“I read a book,” She said finally, “By the G- by Tsunade of the Sannin.” She said, correcting herself. Hikaru wondered what she had nearly said. Yuudai also raised an eyebrow, but seemed to know fo the technique at least.

“Of course. Just be careful when practicing such high-level things on your own. Wouldn’t want it to backfire on you.” He said, and ruffled her hair. Hikaru let out a small breath that he hadn’t realised he had been holding because of the tension.

“Let’s take a break then, and after lunch we can empty that lovely pit.” Yuudai said cheerfully, back to his usual torturous tendencies. All three genin groaned, but hurried to retrieve their lunches. Homaru looked deep in thought, and Hikaru’s hand on his shoulder startled him.

“Is something wrong?” Hikaru asked. Homaru pursed his lips, then twiddled his thumbs as he was prone to do when nervous. He looked toward Sakura, where she was sprawled under the shade of a tree.

“That technique… It’s B-rank, easily, A-rank depending on the use. The seer amount of chakra needed to power it is…” He trailed off. Hikaru glanced at the girl, content like a cat in the sun.

“Sakura is something else.”

~~

“A little help here please?" Homaru whined. Yuudai threw a glance over his shoulder towards his little genin (although all three were more than ready to become Chuunin) squad. Then he spotted the lanky white-haired medic. _Ok, not so little._

Two years after Team 3's conception Yuudai could honestly say that he cared about his squad. Granted, when his father had said that he was being given a very important long-term mission he hadn't expected to be pulled out of Anbu and thrown into the world of a Jounin-sensei. Never once in his twenty-seven years hahad he ever even thought of becoming a teacher, much less at this level. He’d thought maybe one day in the far future he’d take up secondary training of Chuunin, but never kids. None of his ex-squad members had been very excited to see him put in charge of children.

“You’ll break them. I give them two days, tops,” Cat had said. They’d made a betting pool even. Somehow two days had stretched on into two years, to years of watching those kids grow into themselves and their roles.

When he first laid his eyes on his team he had been mildly disappointed. Of course he had read each of their dossiers and hadn't been expecting much (except at least mild ability to follow orders from the Hyuuga boy) but he certainly hadn't expected a boy who could barely talk to strangers, a girl who was far too small and innocent for his liking and a Hyuuga whose sense of duty was in slight question.

His first impressions had been shattered almost immediately.

Sakura was stronger physically than most Jounin he knew, even without her chakra enhanced strength. When she had fractured his hand with a smile he had almost retaliated, but his training kicked in and he'd kept himself calm. It was a good thing too; he wasn't sure how he would have been punished for accidentally snapping the neck of an Uchiha prodigy. It probably wouldn't sit well with the clan's elders, knowing how petty they got about the smallest slight against their ‘holy heir’ Itachi. But it was not her physical strength that surprised him most, but rather her mental fortitude and loyalty. She always seemed to follow some sort of mantra in how she protected her teammates, even Yuudai himself in certain circumstances. It never failed to impress him when she took the reins and calmed everyone down.

And then the kid who couldn't even get through two words without stuttering had gone on to show such suprising medical abilities. Of course the dossier had mentioned that the boy had an interest in the medical side of shinobi life but he certainly hadn't expected him to be able to do complicated procedures so early on, much less under the extreme pressure battlefield medics endured on a daily basis. Whoever taught him (and Yuudai knew it was most likely Sakura) had drilled into him everything that made a good medic and more.

Hikaru on the other hand hadn't changed Yuudai’s opinion of him until a few missions later. When he took that hit for his teammate Yuudai had been sure that his team would get far. It was one thing to go about doing things for the sake of your family’s honour, but in Konoha there was much, much more that a shinbi was tasked with protecting. And teammates were just some of the few. Being able to understand that the whole was more important that the individual was something every Shimura valued, and something Yuudai had hoped he had instilled in his pupils.

The thought of how well they were doing worried him at times, and he wondered when his father would haul the trio off into Root. He knew exactly what went on in there. The training was tough, the emotional conditioning nearly inhumane (depending on who you asked) and not everyone made it out of there with their mind intact. Though the emotional training was useful he still wouldn't like for his team to be put through the wringer like that.

"How the hell did you manage to get up there?!" Sakura shouted, breaking him out of his worry. Yuudai chuckled as Team 3's only female member proceeded to throw kunai into the  uppermost branches of the tree, snapping ropes so that Homaru would be released from his unconventional prison. Hikaru stood beneath the boy, there to catch him as he fell.

He turned his head to the trio of genin-level nin whom Team 3 had been assigned to capture. The kids had been sneaky, unpredictable and obvious pranksters, if the workmanship on their traps was anything to go by. Paint bombs, pits, hanging ropes. Even a glue, flower and feathers one Hikaru had had the unfortunate pleasure of getting caught in (he had had to wash flower and feathers out of his hair for hours and there was still some left). Yuudai would be glad to be rid of them, Iwa was where they belonged. The leader of the group was older than Sakura, a thirteen year old who had run away from Iwa with her too cronies and decided to bring havoc to the small villages in Hi no Kuni. They hadn't taken into account the fact that Konoha had a specialist Hunter-nin team on the constant prowl.

Well it only made their job easier. After the run in with an S-ranked criminal during a surveillance mission in Yuki no Kuni he knew that Team 3 deserved a break.

~~

“Listen, he’s the one in the black coat. He walks too fast to be a civilian,” Sakura said, her voice filled with static from the radio.

“Got it, I’ll track him to his hide-out, but if we’re right he won’t be staying in this village much longer.” Hikaru spoke into the mic. He activated his Byakugan, and focused completely on his targe so that he wouldn’t lose him. At the edge of his vision he could see Sakura following as well, but he couldn’t sense her at all. If there was one thing that Sakura had perfected it was extinguishing her presence. The Byakugan was just about the only that could still get a lock on her.

“I’m at the hideout, sensei is taking care of the hostages. Should I hold position?” Homaru’s voice sounded. Hikaru figured he was far away enough to get closer to him, and hopped down from his perch in the tree.

“Hold. The hostages are giving me a bit of trouble, and aren’t responding. We need to bring this guy in for questioning if I can’t get anything from the hostages.” Yuudai said. Homura gave the affirmative. Hikaru gave chase, keeping his distance.

The mission was simple at the outset. Someone or something was capturing villagers in one of the outlying towns in Hi no Kuni, but it hadn’t become such a big deal that the town had requested anyone above Genin for the job. Even if they had wanted to do so, it was unlikely they could afford it. Even paying for Career shinobi at their rank was a push, so they were the ones assigned.

Hikaru had been uneasy through the whole mission. Tracking the guy and finding the hostages wasn’t the hard part, but something about the guy put him off. Something was strange about the catatonic state his victims (both potential and actual) were found in. He wondered-

“Hello there little shinobi. What pr-etty eyes you have.” Someone whispered next to him. Hikaru felt himself slipping into a sort of lull.

“What-“

“Shh, don’t worry, we’re just going to meet your friends for some _fun!”_

“Oh, okay…”

~~

The last thing Homaru remembered was hearing Sakura’s voice cut out on the radio, her words panicked and frantic.

“Get out of there right now Homaru! I don’t care what Yuudai said, get out!” She had screamed. Homaru had scrambled, but a soft voice had stopped him and next thing he knew he was standing with a fistful of Hikaru’s shirt, poised to throw him from the cliff they both stood on. In his shock Homaru hastily discarded the handful of fabric he had been holding and jumped back, even as Hikaru did the same.

“Oh thank Kami-sama,” Sakura breathed behind them, and Homaru turned to the gruesome sight that awaited him.

Sakura’s hands were dripping, stained red with blood. A man lay, mouth gaping and blood-filled next to her, and something - _oh fuck was that a tongue –_ lay mangled on the ground next to the pair. Sakura’s face was streaked with tears, and she opened her arms wide towards them for comfort.

“You nearly died, oh god, I was so stupid, thinking he couldn’t tell we were tailing him.” She cried. Homaru normally would have gone straight to her, hugged her, but he couldn’t stop staring at the kidnapper’s mutilated face in horror. How could, how could Sakura have done that? How could she…

“Why?” Homaru managed, voice croaky. Sakura’s eyebrows furrowed, confused.

“He had a Kekkei Genkai , you nearly… you would have _died._ I didn’t, I didn’t have a choice. Don’t you understand?” She asked. Homaru shook, from head to toe, and stepped back from her slightly, for the first time scared, truly, of his teammate.

“She’s right,” Yuudai called, getting up stiffly from where he was before lying down. He threw a cursory glance towards the missing-nin, “That guy was an S-class criminal. He controls people with his voice, lures them into a trap and forces them to kill each other for fun. I managed to resist only to the point of paralysing myself, so Sakura didn’t have a choice if she wanted to save you two.”

Homaru shook his head. He didn’t want to believe that it was the only way. Didn’t want to think that this was the only answer, never mind that what was done was done.

“How are we going to interrogate him?” Hikaru asked, wary.

“The Yamanakas will surely-“

“That’s not the point!” Homaru shouted, completely out of character. Sakura’s eyes widened, “That’s not the point. You, you’ve never ever done anything violent without a proper reason. This is, this isn’t you Sakura. I thought I knew you better than this. How could you stoop to that level…” Homaru asked. It would have been better, he thought, if she had just killed him outright. Cleaner, more merciful. This was too brutal for her, for this girl who cared so much about the lowly.

Sakura set her mouth in a line.

“Sensei, we should clean up here. We are expected back soon. Permission to go ahead to the inn to clean myself up?” Sakura asked. Yuudai nodded.

“Permission granted. Be careful.” He said. Sakura nodded, and sped away. Homaru’s heart ached, half wanting to follow after and half wanting to shout and scream.

“You two, I suggest you give her a moment. While you were both comatose she had to fight alone. The last thing she needed was you railing on her after she had to make such a tough decision.” Yuudai said. He walked over to their assignment to detain him properly, but spoke up again briefly, “One day, when she’s the one who’s captured, and you have to make the same choices, you’ll understand a bit better. Apologise then.” He finished.

None of them spoke to each other the whole way home.

~~

Eventually the bond of blood that tied together many a shinobi had come through and they had gotten over the argument. Yuudai had been thankful; they could probably have a manga based on their lives with the sheer amount of drama that cropped up around them. When Sakura was taken hostage by one Missing-nin they had been tasked to deal with the boys became overly protective. The guy had died a long, painful death and when Sakura had come around and asked about his whereabouts the unanimous reply had been 'he was dealt with'. The two of them obviously didn't take kindly to any harm befalling the bright-eyed young girl, and they had given their promised apology two-fold for their behaviour when she had had the same to deal with.

Homaru plummeted thirty metres as Sakura severed the last rope and landed in Hikaru's arms with a sigh of relief. The raven immediately started berating Homaru for getting himself stuck in a tree in the first place, despite the fact that he was still carrying the boy bridal style. Sakura ran towards them with a smile plastered on her face.

"You three ready to haul these kids' asses back to Iwa? The red-head has been getting on my nerves." She complained. The three of them turned to Yuudai with rueful smiles, Hikaru unceremoniously dumping Homaru onto the ground.

"Sensei, don't you want to-"

"Nope. Let's go." Yuudai said. All three groaned and picked up a kid before they set off. Sakura complained bitterly about having to visit Iwa. Something about blondes with pyromaniac-like tendencies, and weird habits. Another one of the strange things he had to deal with, Yuudai often wondered about the girl's strange intuition - or if it was intuition at all. Perhaps she had an underlying power other than her famed doujutsu. A glance at her showed him a passive face and guarded eyes, despite the humour and fun she projected. She had emotional training down to a t and could school her features until absolutely nothing was discernible, as she was then.

He wondered how a mere eleven year-old could do it to so well. _Then again_ , he hardened the set of his mouth; _Hatake could do it at seven_. _And he didn’t even try to look happy._

~~

"I can't believe we passed! Give me a hug you idiot!"  Sakura squealed. Homaru smiled softly as his best friend threw herself at him, a wide grin splitting her face and her almost entirely green eyes shining with laughter. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist and had to remind himself that despite the fact that she could level buildings with a punch she was only twelve.

"Aw, and me?" Hikaru pouted and crossed his arms like he was a three year-old but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

"Come here you big softie." Sakura called. Hikaru huffed and joined in on their little hug, casually looping his left arm around Homaru's waist and his other arm around Sakura's shoulder. Homaru cold feel his face heating up and just prayed that the observant Hyuuga wouldn't notice.

"So we're officially Chuunin now hey?" Hikaru said wistfully, and a little relieved. After the ordeal of their Chuunin exam in Kusa none of them were up to doing it over again. The weird forests in that area had never seemed as deadly as when you were thrown in them without gear, food, or water and expected to not only survive but find a hidden base and defeat ‘enemies’. Even the final test, an all-out one-on-one tournament had been tough. However they had managed it, together in the end. Sakura winked at him and squealed a bit more.

"Kami, no more D-ranks for us. We should celebrate by going out to dinner. How does Ramen sound?" Sakura waggled her eyebrows and Hikaru face palmed.

"I think that you have an unhealthy obsession with ramen to be honest. It's that little blonde kid that you're always hanging out with. What's his name, Naruto?" Hikaru asked, knowing full well it was. Naruto often showed up and made his presence known with careful pranks and gags. Even being Sakura’s friends wasn’t enough to save them (or rather, it made it worse). Sakura scoffed indignantly.

"That is because Naruto is the only one who appreciates a fine bowl of Ramen, as in capital 'R'. S'not my fault you two have boring palettes. So, Ichiraku's isn't too far away. I'm sure we can manage a few bowls each if we hurry. Misori-san won't expect us until seven." Sakura said smugly. Homaru blanched. In the euphoria of receiving their Chuunin promotion letters he had forgotten the dinner arrangements with Sakura's mother. He was sure that she was silently scrutinizing him every time he went for dinner. Homaru glanced at his white-eyed teammate. _Well at least she likes me more than Hikaru._

"One bowl, you know that Misori gets upset when we don't finish our meals." Hikaru offered.

"Fine then. To Ichiraku's!"

Hikaru's arm never left Homaru's waist.

~~

Shisui eyed the two dinner guests suspiciously and almost smiled at their uncomfortable postures until Sakura sent a glare his way. Something about the way she did it, combining small spikes of killing intent with it made the glare all the more effective.

The white-haired one he knew fairly well as he and Sakura had been friends for a long time, since their years together in the academy. That fact only made him more suspicious. He didn't quite trust the kid's intentions towards his much younger sister. She was only twelve, and the boy in front of him was sixteen, only five years shy of his own twenty-one.

On the other hand, there was the Hyuuga. If not for the boy’s bloodline Shisui may have had to worry about that one. Thankfully he knew the tension between the two clans would never allow the union. Despite having seen the boy hanging around Sakura so often, Shisui had never worried about his mother viewing the branch house member as a potential suitor. While the Uchiha family was certainly less segregated than the Hyuuga, they still had a certain amount of distance between the main family and those who were only very very distantly related. Then again, he had never thought that his father intended to marry Sakura off as soon as possible.

But Misori had invited them to dinner, so he expected that some sort of cordial conversation would have to be made, lest he incur his mother's wrath.

"So Homaru, I've heard that you intend to revolutionize the medical world. Is that true?" Misori asked politely. The boy in question flushed several shades paler than should be considered healthy and pulled a strained smile onto his face.

"Yes, I do. I plan to follow in the footsteps of Tsunade-sama, in terms of her brilliant work as a medic-nin. What dreams do you follow, Shisui-san?" Homaru asked, directing the question away. His father shot him a look and Shisui nearly choked the blissfully unaware idiot his innocent little sister held in such high regard.

"I dream only of the future of my clan, and how it may be improved." Shisui said. Shinji seemed satisfied with his answer and Misori looked proud of him.

"Highly commendable, what a brilliant dream, Shisui-san." Hikaru commended. His dark eyes swivelled to the smiling Hyuuga and he felt his fingers twitch ever so subtlety. Provoking, that boy, very, very provoking.

"And you Hikaru-san? Do you wish to bring your clan honour?" He asked.

"My clan has much honour, and it is my dream to uphold this in my journey as a shinobi, while still doing my best to protect my village." Hikaru answered without skipping a beat. Shisui narrowed his eyes and took mental notes on the seating arrangement to calm his rising irritation. His big brother instincts already dislike both boys, and that one wasn't making it any easier to like him.

Sakura sat at a respectable distance from Homaru, though it was still close as in friendship. Compared to how closely the two boys were sitting it might as well have been two strangers sitting next to each other. Hikaru was clearly encroaching on the taller boy's space bubble but Homaru didn't seem to mind in the least. They sat as if they had something else going on, though Sakura had made no mention of any such relationship. Shisui grinned slyly.

"And who is it that you plan to marry?" He asked innocently. Hikaru choked on his onigiri and Sakura's eyes widened almost comically. The white-haired Chuunin went from terribly pale to brighter than his cousin's precious tomatoes.

"Excuse me?" The young Hyuuga's voice shot up an octave, which pleased Shisui greatly.

"Shisui! Do not be rude to our guests. Hikaru-san is merely sixteen; he has plenty of time to find someone to marry." Misori said. Okaa-san to the rescue.

"Yeah, a better question would be who you plan to marry, considering the fact that you're already twenty-one and have never even dated anyone." Sakura teased. Her smile was triumphant as Misori scolded her.

"Actually Shisui-san, I was wondering when you planned to get married. Itachi-san's bride was picked out when he was two. I am at least affording you a choice." Shinji butt in. Sakura looked momentarily guilty before curiosity broke through. Shisui glared at her hard for bring the subject of his own lack of a love life up.

"I just haven't found the right person yet, Shinji-sama. Thank you for y-"

"So who's the unlucky girl who has to marry Itachi?" Sakura asked. Misori sent a look to her husband.

"Yes, I was also unaware that or future clan head was betrothed. Mikoto never said a word about it." Misori said.

"My, how nosy you have become Misori. It is unbefitting of you. To answer your question, the Uchiha clan's future matriarch is undecided. There are three young girls that should be vying for Itachi's attention. One of them is the boy's direct cousin, Yuna. The other is a young girl from Sunagakure, she being the Kazekage's daughter." Sakura stiffened at the mention of the Kazekage's daughter. "And the third is your daughter, our very own Sakura."

The entire room became entirely too stuffy all of a sudden. There was a sharp spike in furious killing intent that Shisui found it hard to breathe in, despite the fact that it could have only come from Sakura and she shouldn't have been able to control hers as such. The two guests looked nervous as hell as they moved through the killing intent that paralysed the rest of the family, with some difficulty. _They're used to it, quite obviously._ Homaru's hand was on Sakura's shoulder and she slumped forward, nearly face-planting into her onigiri before Hikaru caught her shoulders and pulled her up. The killing intent faded and Shisui resumed breathing, his father choking slightly next to him and his mother shuddering. The door burst open.

"We felt the killing intent what happened?" The regular patrol guards showed up and surveyed the room. Shinji looked up and glared at them.

"What took you so long? It could have been an intruder." Shinji said, voice low. The one guard grimaced.

"We got here immediately but the killing intent paralysed us and prevented us from further action when we reached the doorway. Whatever was capable of that must be seriously powerful." Three heads swivelled to look at the now unconscious girl, whose head was being cradled carefully by the Hyuuga. Homaru was busy applying a cold press to her forehead, from where was completely unknown. Misori looked up at her husband pleadingly.

"How did she-"

"I do not know. But the threat has passed, Shisui please take your sister to her bedroom. You two," Shinji threw a look to the guards, "Escort those two from the district. This dinner is over." Shinji stormed out of the room and in the direction of their clan head's home. Hikaru and Homaru looked reluctant to leave Sakura there but they trusted Shisui enough to just nod as they were removed from the room. His mother excused herself to the kitchen.

As he laid Sakura's prone body against her thin sheets his eyes became unfocused. Only a few years ago his sister was carefree and happy to be the good little girl that was expected of her. Now she had evolved into someone almost unrecognizable. Shisui brushed back a strand of her dark hair from her forehead. He was familiar with shinobi life and how it transformed people but this? This started long before his sister's inauguration into the life of a murderer. He recalled the horror story of her first S-rank missing-nin. How she had cut out his tongue without remorse, would have carved out his heart if not for her Jounin-sensei. When had Sakura become a monster?

The answer lay within her torture and gaining of the Sharingan, he thought. How much had it affected her mentally that he never noticed? True, most Sharingan users never really went to therapy for what they saw that triggered it, but he regretted greatly now that he hadn't asked for her to. Shisui had always prided himself on being able to figure people out, least of all his own sister.

But here she lay, a person he didn't know at all.

~~

Sakura had always been tall for her age, in her past life, but in this one she felt tiny and incomparable at times. Until she first started realising that despite her appearance everyone who knew her, or knew of her feared her - barring the few exceptions of her brother, sensei and Itachi.

When she finally hit her growth spurt the world felt just that little bit clearer.

She grew up, finally. Still far shorter than her teenaged teammates who had only just gained the more refined features of later life. She found that her new (although after so many years she could hardly call it such) body was more feminine than her original one, She was growing into unexpected curves even at age eleven. By twelve she was already taller, stronger and lither than the other girls her age. Shisui said it was a bad change, and lamented how he would have to fight back the hordes of fanboys Sakura would no doubt gain.

“I can take care of myself you idiot.” She shrieked; laughing as Shisui threw her over his shoulder to abduct her from her conversation with the baker’s boy.

“You can’t see what I can, little sister! A brother’s intuition is never wrong!”

Except for Shisui’s obvious ridiculousness, there were more oddities developing around her every day. Homaru walked on the side of her that faced the academy; Hikaru offered to accompany her on errands; even Itachi, who usually didn’t bother himself with such trivial matters, had taken to keeping her talking at Uchiha gatherings. Although she suspected it was doing her good, not having to speak with that one infernal cousin of hers who just couldn’t get the message.

Outside of her social life (which was a rare thing for most shinobi in any case) Sakura continued to improve at breakneck speed. Her Sharingan (it was still weird to call it her own) had matured – something she still wasn’t sure was actually an achievement as much as it was a measure of the trauma she had gone through.

Her love for her chakra-enhanced strength was still high, but with the way that her team functioned – not as a ‘destroy, destroy, destroy’ team as before – she had to resort to more subtle arts of the shinobi to get her job done properly. Genjutsu, something she had been told she would be good at but had never tried, was what she chose. There were ample resources from her to learn from in any case, considering the Uchiha Clan’s proclivity for manipulation of the mind and the senses.

While her strongest element was supposed to be katon, she preferred (greatly) the finicky aspects of fuuton. It was the kind of element one needed to train for years in before the air actually did anything close to what you willed it to do, and that made it one of the most tricky to learn. For her it was no easy task, but her chakra control was so fine it could manipulate even the smallest of wind currents to do her bidding.

Together, she and her best friends – along with their long suffering sensei – had grown into the fine shinobi they were now. Shimura’s brutal training and harsh lessons were all necessary to teach them how to not only survive, but make the best of their careers as shinobi. Even though at first he may have doubted them, and she him, Sakura knew now that he held genuine care and respect for the three students he cared for. And they too cared greatly for him.

The now green-eyed Chuunin wondered what Danzo thought of his future Hunter-nin team. She still found it deeply unsettling how many missing-nin they seemed to encounter on missions, and had no doubt that all of them were rigged. A training of sorts, to ensure that they had what it took to do the job properly in the future. They had more than adequately proved themselves, and already as Genin. Never mind their fantastic performance in the Chuunin exams. They had claimed the top three spots with ease on their first try.

Sakura shook off her thoughts and collected her weapons, scattered around the training ground. The hair on her arms stood upright as a breeze blew past, and she swallowed mouthfuls of the sweet water in her canteen. It was a long road back into the village, but it made for a nice cooldown. The village was dressed in bright autumn colours: shop owners strung brightly coloured lights across doorways , stalls were being set up along the main parts of the village, and all around her people were preparing for the festival parade up to the Hokage Monument, finished by Sarutobi’s annual speech.

A few giggling children rushed past her, re-enacting the battle of the Yondaime and the Kyuubi. Sakura frowned despite herself, knowing that on this day of the year – the one day Naruto should have been heralded and loved – he would spend holed up to avoid the village’s worst. Since Sakura had gotten to this time she had kept watch of Naruto every year as well as she could, but every now and again she still came to his home to find him bruised and bloody.

She averted her eyes from the festival preparations and focused rather on how happy Naruto would surely be to receive his birthday presents this year. As far as she knew (and she was correct) he had never had a party for himself, just himself. Even when she and Sasuke gave him presents it wasn’t a party, and this year Sakura was determined to give him that little happiness.

She popped into her home to shower and grab the gifts she had prepared, changing from her training gear into her rarely-used civilian wear. Though Uchiha tradition demanded clan members wear kimono when not working Sakura had ignored the rule in favour of simple blouses and pants. She had never been a fan of obi-style outfits, but the style was still reminiscent of a yukata in any case.

She slid into her sandals as she pulled her hair into a bun, carefully cradling Naruto’s present in her arms. It had been something salvaged from deep within the Hokage’s vaults – something taken from the Yondaime’s house after his death. Sarutobi had been reluctant to part with it, certainly, but had trusted Sakura enough to allow her to give it to him. Sakura thought it was a good time as any.

Chakra enhanced legs and a well-timed shunshin brought her to Naruto's apartment right on time and Sakura let out a relieved breath as she knocked on his door. A head of wild blonde hair appeared quickly and bright blue eyes smiled at her.

"Sakura-nee-san! You made it. Come on, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan and Sasuke-kun are waiting for us." He said brightly. Sakura smiled as Naruto grabbed her hand and led her indoors to the small living room of his apartment, where the aforementioned kids sat around a low table. Sasuke was on her the moment she stepped into the room.

"Sakura-hime! I thought you'd forgotten about us." He accused. She hugged the small boy and ruffled his hair before plopping herself down in between Naruto and Ino. The apartment was dimly lit, but it was clean courtesy of the regular Uchiha cleaning parade. Sakura’s heart ached every time she entered the place, thinking of how her Naruto had lived all alone in that place for so many years.

"Of course I didn't forget, Sasuke-kun. It would reflect badly on me if I didn't attend such an important occasion." She said, sending an especially warm smile Naruto's way and the boy blushed at her attention.

"Sakura-nee-san, did you bring Naruto-kun a present?" Ino asked. Sakura moved her eyes to the blonde, who was busy fiddling with the well-wrapped package in her lap. Chibi-Saku held up her own present to Naruto with a blush.

"Naruto-kun, I thought that your weapons looked a bit out of order so I got you some newer ones. I hope you like them." She stated, a little bit of ‘you had _better_ like them’ in her tone. Naruto looked at the freshly made and polished kunai with glee written over his features. Knowing the blunted, rusted weapons he was forced to practice with under normal circumstances this gift was truly practical and well thought out.

"This is so cool Sakura-chan! Thanks. Now maybe I can beat Sasuke-kun." Naruto teased. Sasuke scoffed and smiled, handing his own present over. It turned out to be ink and sealing paper, which Naruto didn't seem to quite understand at first. Sakura smiled at this, wondering if Itachi had found Sakura's present and told Sasuke to get something to go with it.

"Eh? What am I supposed to do with this?" He blurted. Sakura sighed and pulled out her own present, still in its sealing scroll. The second present remained behind her back.

"Its Fuinjutsu paper, Naruto-kun. It looks like Sasuke-kun and I were thinking along the same lines, cause I got you a book on the basics of fuinjutsu. Did you know that the Fourth Hokage was a fuinjutsu master? Maybe you can be a fuinjutsu master too, one day." She smiled. Naruto looked a little awestruck at her words and opened the book greedily, scanning its pages with a determined expression. He let out a loud ‘uwaah!’.

"Oh, this is so difficult. Sakura-chan, would you help me with this sometimes, because there are a lot of words I don't understand in here." He admitted. Chibi-Saku blushed brighter and nodded her head.

"Sure Naruto-kun! Ino-chan, don't you also have a present for Naruto-kun?" Chibi-Saku asked. Ino looked down, a bit embarrassed.

"Yeah, but it's not as cool as everyone else's presents." She said. Sakura placed her hand on the blonde's shoulder for comfort, a little bit awed at how she was comforting a person whom she had looked to for such comfort so many years ago.

"I'm sure that your present is wonderful, Ino-chan. Go ahead." Sakura encouraged. Ino steeled her expression and held out the small package. Naruto unwrapped it carefully and his grin widened as he looked at the object it contained.

"Aw, thanks Ino-chan. Now everyone matches." He held up the bracelet, with its small Uzumaki clan symbol attached and pulled it on. Ino grinned with Naruto.

"Well I thought that since Sakura and I have some, and she made Sasuke-kun one for his birthday that it's only fair if you get one too. I didn’t really know if you _had_ a clan, but I researched in the library and apparently there _is_ an Uzumaki clan out there somewhere! And that was the symbol the book told me about. Now the only person who doesn't have one is Sakura-nee-san, but if you want one I can make one. It isn't that hard." Ino said. Sakura smiled at the small girl, proud of Ino’s forethought. Naruto seemed so awed by the fact that maybe, just maybe he had relatives out there. A clan name was no small thing in this world of theirs. Before Naruto imploded due to the thought Sakura put a hand on his shoulder.

"That would be lovely Ino-chan, but my birthday is only on November 12th. Still a long way away." Sakura said. Chibi-Saku cut in.

"But we can still make you one. That way everyone will now that you're our super cool Nee-chan." She said. The other three chorused with 'yeah's.

"Ok then. Well now that we've handed out presents, how about we go and visit the playground. We wouldn't want to break anything in Naruto-kun's apartment, now would we?" Sakura asked, leaving the present under the table for Naruto. They all shook their heads and ran for the door, Sakura trailing behind them.

"Sakura-hime, can I get a piggyback ride? Pretty please?" Sasuke asked. Sakura looked at Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Can't you walk?" She asked. He pouted.

"Yes, but I like riding on your back more. Aniki never gives me piggyback rides anymore."

"Ok fine, but just until we reach the playground, okay?" She said. Sasuke climbed onto her back with practised ease and they were off. Ino held her right hand and Sakura hooked arms with Ino. Naruto moved just ahead of them, his endless energy allowing him to run circles around the group. Sasuke kept telling Naruto to slow down and wait for them but the blonde was blithely unaware of Sasuke's cries.

The girls talked animatedly about their academy classes and Sasuke seemed to think that flower arrangement was completely pointless. Sakura silently agreed, as the class hadn't ever helped her in the least. Other than uniting her with her future best friend, and just once when she had to exchange messages with the Mizukage across enemy lines in the form of a bouquet.

After escorting her past-self home once Sakura had refrained from meeting up with the girl. It pained her that she could do nothing about the bullying she knew the girl would go through but she wouldn't allow herself to miss out on Ino's friendship. The two girls had become attached at the hip soon after the ribbon incident and Sakura had allowed herself to drift into the girl's life. She had planned on simply influencing herself so that a friendship developed between herself and Naruto but she inadvertently pulled Ino into the equation and now both girls were friends with Naruto and Sasuke.

A sudden shout alerted her to an immediate problem. She looked up at the shop owner who was busy berating Naruto and felt anger rise in her throat. She was at Naruto's side in a second, her hand curled around the wrist of the shop owner, increasing the pressure as she sneered at him.

"Hitting a child. How disgusting. Desist this instant." She hissed. The shop owner obviously missed the hitai-ate as he continued to glare at Naruto, who had taken to clinging the loose part of her sleeve.

"How can you defend that thing?! Do you have any idea what he did?!" The shop owner cried. Sakura tightened her hand and forced the man to look at her. Red bled into her eyes and the man froze in fear. She regarded him carefully.

"He did nothing. I do believe that by mentioning that incident you are breaking the Hokage's law. I have every right to detain you in the name of Konoha, but I shall leave you with a warning." She dropped his wrist as if his skin burned her. "Do not blame your problems on those that do not deserve the blame. Naruto are you okay?" She asked, turning to him. The anger must have still been leaking into her voice because Naruto whimpered softly.

Sakura blinked and felt her Sharingan dissipate.

"Sorry you guys had to see that. Come on, let's go." She said softly. Naruto stayed quiet as they walked forward. Sasuke kept glancing at her warily, even as he sat on her back.

"Naruto-kun, why was that guy shouting at you?" Chibi-Saku asked, going up to Naruto uncertainly and grabbed his hand. Naruto turned his head to her and sighed.

"I don't know. People in the village are always like that around me. It's always worse on my birthday too." Naruto mumbled. Sakura set her mouth in a grim line and watched as her former self hugged Naruto.

"Well they don't matter. Didn't you see how Nee-chan stood up for you? We care about you, and that's all that matters. Just because those people don't understand you doesn't make them right. They're just so sick of their own circumstances that they're taking it out on you." Chibi-Saku said sagely. Sakura gaped at her younger self. Had she always been that smart?

"Sakura-chan's right. Now let's go celebrate your birthday properly." Ino cheered. She caught up with the two of them and they made a line. Sakura walked just ahead of them and Sasuke directed them as if he was their squad captain, scouting and shouting out ultimately irrelevant information for the fun of it. They moved all around the village, thoughts of visiting the playground forgotten to the game. Sakura found herself enjoying being a pretend ninja. She and Naruto teamed up against the other three in a small-scale prank war and won thanks to Naruto's ingenuity and her own training.

"It's not fair. You got Sakura-hime on your team and she's a real ninja." Sasuke said, pouting adorably again and she found herself wanting to pinch his cheeks. He really had been a chubby cheeked kid.

"Naruto and I won fair and square. It’s time go home Sasuke-kun." She said, but paused before she left. “Naruto, would you like me to walk you home tonight?” She asked. Naruto dithered by a bench before nodding.

“Yes please.” He said. Sasuke promised he would get home fine, and Sakura knew he would.

"You two, get home safe. You're sure you don't need me to walk you home too?" Ino and Chibi-Saku shook their heads.

"We'll be fine Sakura-nee. You just take Naruto-kun home." Sakura obliged them and took Naruto’s hand.

They were thrown varying levels of dirty looks as they walked back to Naruto’s apartment, but Sakura let them slide off of her skin like water. The apartment was dark and lonely when they got there, and Naruto seemed reluctant to go in, even once Sakura had switched on the lights.

“Is something wrong?” She asked, as she spontaneously began picking up and folding items left around the room. Naruto was quiet, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Nee-san, I’ve never… I’ve never really had a birthday party before,” he said, before shaking his head, “No, no what I meant to say is I’ve never had _friends_ before. I don’t have any money, or talents at making stuff or anything, so I can’t really give anyone else presents,” He continued. Sakura came over and sat next to him, the old springs creaking under her weight. “I know a lot of people don’t like me, and I annoy the old man a lot, but I can’t help it! Is it, is it selfish? To want to spend more time with you and Sasuke and the others? I feel like I’m just a problem.” He whispered.

Sakura set her mouth in a hard line and cuffed Naruto round the head.

“Uwaah! Hey, what was that for?”

“For you being silly, Uzumaki Naruto, that’s what. What do you mean selfish? If you’re selfish for wanting to spend time with your friends then I’m _doubly_ selfish, no, _triply_ selfish, because I want to spend time with my friends, and my family, and my teachers and peers and everyone I care about.” She said, pulling him into a hug, “Wanting to spend time with people isn’t selfish, it’s normal. So don’t hesitate to ask any of us to spend time with you, little baka.”

Naruto sniffled, and his eyes teared up, so Sakura pulled back a little.

“Here, I have an extra little present for you.” She said, and grabbed the box from under the table. Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes with the back of his sleeve and opened the box. Inside was nestled a hand-knitted scarf in green, with a tiny note attached. He picked up the note and read it.

‘ _To my dearest little boy, stay warm.’_

“This is…”

“It’s from your mom,” Sakura explained, as Naruto looked up at her, hiccupping and crying, “the old man had it in a box for you, for when you were big enough to wear it. I talked him into giving it to you, so it’s a joint present from him and your mom all at on-“

“Thank you!” Naruto blubbered, sobbing his eyes out and springing forward to grab Sakura. “I love you! Thank you,” He choked, increasingly incoherent. Sakura rubbed his back as he clutched the scarf to his chest tightly, whispering assurances to him as he cried himself to sleep.

She didn’t want to leave him alone that night, and tucked him into bed – sitting on his windowsill and watching as the fireworks lit up the sky from the Hokage Monument to celebrate the Yondaime’s sacrifice, and the sacrifice Naruto still suffered.

\--

When Sakura finally got home in the early hours of the next morning Sasuke was the first one to greet her. He was waiting for her at the compound gates, and they walked together to her home. He seemed quiet and contemplative, and every time he started to speak he would stop before rethinking his words.

"Sakura-hime,” He finally started, “you used your Sharingan on that guy didn't you?" Sakura faltered at the question.

"Hai, I did. Why do you ask?"

"Itachi-nii also has Sharingan, and Tou-san and Kaa-san. How come I don't?" Sasuke questioned. Sakura drooped at the boy's naivety.

"You have to go through a trauma, Sasuke. The Sharingan is a sign of true strife. Not something you really want." She offered. Sasuke placed his hand in hers and tugged her to a stop.

"So it's a good thing that I don't have any Sharingan?" He asked hesitantly. Sakura nodded.

"A very good thing." She assured.

As Sakura lay in bed that night, with a missive from the Hokage concerning her team's joining of Anbu burning a hole through her chest she wondered if it was worth it. Having the Sharingan and all. It only made others see her as a killing machine, not a person. She recalled the terrified look in Naruto's eyes when she had turned her Sharingan towards him. How much would she have to do to stop the war from happening? She glanced out of her bedroom window and into the cool night. As long as she could prevent the massacre that was fated to happen in a year. That would change everything, and hopefully for the better.

~~

Sakura hated Anbu with a fucking passion.

She couldn't recall ever being as tired and sore and generally pissed off as she was right that moment and only had Anbu training to curse for her state. Homaru had passed out completely from sheer exhaustion and Hikaru looked decidedly pale, leaning up against a tree. Her legs and lungs were on fire, and her throat had not felt this dry since Suna, where water was such a scarce commodity that showering for too long was punishable by execution.

Still, being able to run for three days straight was an essential skill and she felt proud that she'd managed to do so without passing out, despite being only thirteen. Shisui hadn't been happy when he'd heard of her acceptance into Anbu. In fact he had tried very hard to dissuade her from the idea but she had stood firm on her decision. The skills and contacts she would gain in Anbu would be invaluable in her quest to eliminate the members of the Akatsuki.

She gulped down water without stopping for air as soon as she got her hands on it and coughed on the way up. Collapsing against a tree she groaned at the pain in her muscles. Telling the three of them to run through Fire Country with Kakashi Hatake at their backs promising retribution was not the best way to welcome a person into Anbu, but Sakura had found it interesting how different Anbu Kakashi was. He was much more reserved and closed off than sarcastic and aloof. She had managed to prod at him enough to raise some reaction out of him which had resulted in a taijutsu spar (he had thoroughly kicked her ass) and a few broken bones (courtesy of her strength and his speed) to which Homaru had paid little attention further than half-mending them. The results had produced a new Team 3, with their Anbu captain being Kakashi Hatake. Kakashi himself looked tired but did not voice his discomfort, leaning casually against a tree, a bright orange book that was long gone in her time propped up between two fingers.

"So, the great Copy Nin Kakashi is an avid fan of badly written porn. How interesting." Sakura teased. Kakashi shot her an incredulous look and went back to his book almost immediately.

"And just how would you know it's badly written? You're what, twelve?" Kakashi countered. Sakura huffed.

"Thirteen actually. And they are terrible. I read the first one and found its storyline seriously lacking. And the smut was pretty unbelievable as well." She said.

"How did you get your hands on a copy of it? And what's 'unbelievable' supposed to mean?"  He asked, disgruntled. Sakura smiled at his bewilderment. What she said wasn't entirely true. While the storylines were pretty unbelievable the smut was strangely well-written. Of course Kakashi didn't need to know that.

"And how would you know what 'believable' sex is?" This question came from an unhappy Hikaru. Sakura waggled her eyebrows.

"A woman doesn't kiss and tell." She hummed. She was sure if it was possible Hikaru's jaw would have disconnected from his skull.

"You're not a woman though. I would know." Kakashi drawled. Sakura stuck her tongue out at Kakashi, lying back with her arms behind her head.

"Whatever you say, Taichou." Sakura said. Kakashi's hidden smile proved to her that he liked to be thought of as authority. She scoffed at this; of course Kakashi liked being called strong. He had at least two hundred million ryo on his head. You only accumulated a bounty like that if you were worth it. She dimly wondered what the bounty on her own head would end up being.

"Hey Sakura, would you mind taking a look at my arm? I think I may have broken it, you know during our spar?" Kakashi asked. Sakura glanced at him with a smirk and beckoned him over, not sure that she could manage walking all the way over to him without her legs giving out.

"Aw, looks like it wasn't a clean break. I'll have to properly break it before it can be set." She said, fake concern in her tone. Kakashi steeled himself and tensed as she snapped the bone. She quickly applied the healing chakra to the break, loosening the tension in Kakashi's shoulders. She made a sling from her own medical supplies (she'd anticipated the need of a sling) and soon had Kakashi's arm well set and ready to go.

"Huh, you're pretty good, for a twelve year-old."

"Thirteen. And we both know that age matters not in this business. Have you met my cousin?" She asked. Kakashi's eye twitched ever-so-slightly.

"Unfortunately yes. I was going to be in a squad with him, but thanks to Danzo and your team I've got you guys instead. That kid is something else." He grumbled. Sakura nodded earnestly.

"Well Itachi always likes a compliment, I'll be sure to relate the message."

Kakashi hummed and sat down next to her. He pulled out his book again and Sakura leaned her head back onto the tree. The cool air was making her smile and she groaned as Hikaru shifted her. She ended up with her head in his lap.

"Mhm, you're comfy." She said, content. Hikaru chuckled and began tying up his own ridiculously long hair. The only member of Team 3 without long hair was Kakashi, though his own gravity defying locks deserved their own kind of classification.

"Don't fall asleep; I think Misori-san is tired of seeing me in her house. Nori is suspicious enough already." Hikaru said. Sakura grunted.

"Well Nori should mind his own business. It's just because he isn't getting any." She said. Hikaru choked for a moment. Kakashi giggled nearby and Sakura felt like gaping. Since when did Kakashi giggle?

"When did you become so vulgar? We've only known Kakashi-taichou for five days. Surely the perverseness can't rub off that quickly." Hikaru marvelled. Sakura grinned and shifted herself slightly.

"Maybe I've got pervert syndrome. I don't doubt it exists. Have you ever met Jiraiya of the Sannin? Now there's a pervert and a half. He's the one who wrote those awful books. Has a nasty habit of spying on women while they're bathing. I do believe he calls it 'research'."

"That's terrible. How come you know so much about his less, 'savoury' ventures?" Hikaru asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I was curious. All shinobi have two sides. You won't believe just how much dirt you can find on people if you look hard enough. I happen to know that Kakashi-taichou here has had a long-standing on again off again relationship with Anko Mitarashi. You know the insane one from T&I that likes to torture people?" Sakura asked. Hikaru shuddered and let his hair fall again. She could feel Kakashi glaring daggers at her and stifled a laugh.

"She thoroughly creeps me out.” Hikaru admitted, “What's with the obsession with licking people?"

"It's not a bad obsession. I find it very useful." Kakashi volunteered. Sakura stuck out her tongue at Kakashi.

"Gross, I didn't need to know that. I'm going to assume that it's an 'on' period right now then." She said. Sakura stretched a bit and grimaced at the clicks coming from her overworked joints. She lay back down in Hikaru's lap as a despondent groan emerged from the now conscious Homaru.

"What happened?" Homaru croaked. Hikaru snorted.

"Taichou chased us around Hi no Kuni for three days straight. You passed out as soon as we got here. Don't worry, nobody died during your absence." Hikaru said. Homaru lifted his head slightly and mustered an ineffectual glare at the raven.

"I wouldn't have minded it if you had died." Homaru said darkly. Hikaru smiled.

"Aw, you know you love me." He teased. Sakura grinned at their antics. They just need to get over themselves already. She closed her eyes as the two idiots bickered playfully and wondered how they had the energy for it. The cool breeze was lulling her into relaxation.

"Oh! There she is!" A shrill voice shouted. Sakura evened out her breathing and pretended to be asleep as Sasuke's chakra signature approached.

"Who are you kid?" Kakashi's voice sounded mildly amused and she knew Sasuke was pouting. She wasn't the only person who though the boy looked adorable with a pout, even at the age of ten. It was remarkable how she had never noticed the adorableness when she was his age. Then again, by the age of ten her Sasuke was dead set on revenge and never did anything other than smirk.

"Sasuke Uchiha! I've come to collect Sakura-hime, if you don't mind. Hello Hikaru-san, Homaru-kun." Sasuke greeted cheerfully. Hikaru raised a hand to Sasuke. Homaru grunted off in the not-so-distance.

"Huh, I'm afraid only people who are taller than four foot are allowed to abduct members of my team, so scurry along." Kakashi said.

"Hey! I am so taller than four foot. I happen to be 4' 6''." Sasuke said indignantly. She couldn't stop herself from laughing at this and opened her eyes. Sasuke looked down at her, upset that she had been pretending to be asleep. He crossed his arms and stuck out his bottom lip, trying to look as angry as possible but failing miserably.

"Hello Sasuke-kun. Did Misori-san send you?" Sakura asked. He broke from his sulking and started bouncing.

"Nope. Tou-san invited you for dinner. Even Nii-san is going to be there, isn't that so cool?" He asked, breathless with excitement. Sakura felt Hikaru stiffen under her and she sat up abruptly.

"Very cool yes. Well I'd better be going then. See you tomorrow, Hikaru-kun, Homaru-kun, Kakashi-taichou."

"I can walk you back if you want Sakura-chan." Hikaru offered. Sakura gave the brunet a grateful smile.

"That would be great. I'm not sure I can trust myself to make it all the way there." She said. Hikaru got up quickly and walked beside her. Homaru groaned and lifted his head.

"You guys leaving without me?" He whined. Sakura felt guilty.

"Yeah, I've been summonsed. Kakashi-taichou's still here though. I'm sure he can get you home." She said.

"Don't worry Homaru-kun. It can be a teamwork building exercise for just the two of us." Kakashi said resolutely, shutting his Icha Icha with a small ‘ _clap’._ She left Homaru in Kakashi's capable hands and focused on her own dilemma. She knew Fugaku had a grudge against her. Heck, he stopped her team from participating in the same Chuunin exams as Itachi's team. Would he prevent them from entering Anbu? She doubted Danzo would stand for it. But she had no doubt that he had that kind of power over the clan members.

Over the years Fugaku’s anger at her insubordination in early life had faded quietly, but never failed to show itself when important promotions and events came up. He didn’t actively try to stop her from improving as a shinobi – because even she brought a certain measure of prestige to the Uchiha family by being as good as she was – but he had a tendency towards making sure Itachi stayed a few steps ahead of her in terms of promotions and such. She didn’t hold it too much against him, and they didn’t see eye to eye, but they were no longer on terrible terms. She wanted to trust that he wasn’t a terrible person.

"Do you think he'll stop us from entering Anbu?" Hikaru voiced her silent question and she pressed her fingers to the side of her head.

"I really don't know. He could be planning any number of things. Ugh, this sucks. I hate how much power he has over me." Sakura said. Sasuke was listening in their conversation so they both refrained from revealing anything important. Hikaru wrapped a supportive arm around her shoulder.

"Don't worry too much about it. Maybe he'll congratulate you and say how wonderful you are compared to the magnificent Itachi." He joked. Sakura laughed and leaned into the familiar touch.

"Or maybe he'll bow down and apologise for everything he's already done. That would be classic. Thanks for trying to cheer me up." She said.

"No problem." Hikaru replied. Sasuke tugged on her hand and looked up at her with narrowed eyes.

"Are you two dating?" He asked, suspicious. Jealousy. Sasuke was jealous that she was close to another boy, who was much taller and would probably make great boyfriend material. Sakura burst out laughing.

"No ways Sasuke-kun. 'Sides, I'm already married to you aren't I?" She asked. Sasuke smiled and stuck his tongue out at an amused Hikaru.

"Yup. It's official. And you don't even need to change you surname." He beamed. Sakura nodded. How she wished she was still as naive as the boy. They approached the towering gates of the compound in a short time, and Sakura’s least favourite cousin stood there on guard duty.

"Oi, Sakura-san's brought a boy home. Again." Nori shouted. Sakura sighed and sent Nori a particularly tired look. He raised his hands in defence and went back to grinning lewdly. He was probably the least Uchiha-like Uchiha she had ever met, and she found herself hating the days he was on guard duty.

"Go away Nori. Sorry, for that Hikaru, Nori's just a pervert who wishes he could bring home a guy who looks half as good as you." Sakura retorted. She felt her heart lift a little at the shouts of indignation emanating from Nori.

"Eh, life goes on. I'll see you tomorrow." Hikaru said. Sakura was glad that Hikaru didn't take the prod as something against his own sexuality.

"If I make it through tonight." She said. She hugged him quickly and they parted ways. Sasuke was quiet as they walked to the main house of the compound, Sakura still in her brand new Anbu gear and several layers of grime. Well that was the life of a shinobi.

"Ah Sakura-san you made it. And look at you in your new uniform. You have your mask yet?" Mikoto asked as she greeted Sakura in the genkan. Sakura heard the tense note in Mikoto's voice before she saw the lack of sleep.

"No, Mikoto-sama. The past few days have been only training, getting used to each other's styles of fighting and such. We plan to get our masks tomorrow. May I come in?" She asked. Mikoto nodded and let Sakura pass. “Pardon the intrusion,” Sakura said into the house.

"Have any designs in mind?" Mikoto asked as they walked towards the dining room, Sasuke clutching at his mother’s fingers. Sakura nodded dutifully as she pulled her hair out of its braid and it fell down her back in waves.

"Ah not really. We have each decided to pick a design as we so choose. I apologise for the lack of information but-"

"What happens in Anbu stays in Anbu. At least you have the rules down, Sakura-san." Itachi interjected from his perch in the doorway. Sakura wanted to roll her eyes but kept herself in check. Itachi outranked her in both shinobi and family life and it would not do to show insubordination in his own home.

"Thanks, Itachi-san. I see you just returned from a mission. It went well?" She asked, both sarcastic and genuinely concerned. Itachi nodded. He was wearing his own Anbu gear but had the katana strapped to his back, unlike her.

"No one died." He said.

"How lovely, though I am sure Fugaku-sama is waiting for us." She said. She raised her brows in a motion that meant ‘tell me later’, and he nodded, disappearing into the main room. Mikoto excused herself, saying she needed to take Sasuke to his bath. Sakura herself took a deep breath as she passed into the room. Fugaku turned to her at her movement but his eyes betrayed no emotion. Not even contempt. She noticed Shisui also at the table and the distinct lack of anyone else. Ah, a meeting then. Poor Sasuke had been expecting a family dinner.

"Sakura-san. Sit." Fugaku said – ordered. Sakura obliged the man and took her seat, next to Shisui and opposite Itachi. Fugaku place his hands on the table and she observed the protruding veins. His heartbeat echoed in the room and Sakura realised she hadn't stopped channelling chakra to her ears and stopped. The sound disappeared.

"Otou-sama-"

"Since we now have three members of our esteemed clan in Anbu I expect that the plan can be moved forward. You three have a duty to this clan, above your duty to the village. We have been suppressed due to misguided accusations and we cannot stand for it any longer. Shisui, Itachi, Sakura, your duty, as Uchiha and good shinobi, is to present to me the information necessary for our clan to take back from the village what should rightfully be ours, as co-founders and loyal followers of this village. Do you understand? I will not take any sort of insubordination, regardless of the perpetrator. Punishment will be severe." Fugaku said. Sakura kept her head down.

This was bad. Because of her joining Anbu, the coup was being pushed forward. She thought she might still have a year but now she probably only had a few months at most. The Hokage would have to be told immediately. But Fugaku was bound to have her watched. She could probably avoid any of her tailers, unless she got stuck with Itachi himself; and Itachi would rather murder his entire clan than let them take over Konoha. At least the original Itachi had. As she peeked at him now she wasn't entirely sure.

Sakura resolved to inform the Hokage as soon as she had the chance, knowing that Danzo would try and influence Itachi into orchestrating the massacre if it was him who went to the Hokage. Fugaku dismissed them from the table, and Shisui excused himself to Anbu headquarters, citing a mission report. Itachi left to his room and Sakura hurried off to her home.

Sakura didn't look back as she climbed to the roof. She needed the clear air to think properly. Her room made her feel trapped. After a few moments of relative silence Itachi slipped down next to her. They sat there for a while, not saying a word to each other.

Sakura felt her heartbeat run away with her, as panicked thoughts welled up in her mind. What was she going to do? She had been so distracted, so unworried, when she knew exactly what event would transpire in the past, her future. She didn’t want things to go so badly again, never but she couldn’t seem to get a grip on her thoughts. Itachi wrapped his hand around hers and scooted closer to her, his warmth spreading through her chilled body like a cup of hot cocoa and she settled into the reassuring presence easily. Itachi’s hand had small tremors every now and again, betraying the scary calm he projected.

“We’ll stop it.” He said softly, voice just a whisper on the wind. Sakura laid her head against his shoulder and tried to let the tension slump out of her shoulders.

“Mm,” She hummed, “We will.”

Itachi just gripped her fingers tighter.

~~

Sakura steeled herself as she was let through into the Hokage's office. It had been two hours since she was last there, her mission debriefing had been a good one.

After spending a month tracking down a particularly nasty Kumo-nin, Sakura had just wanted to go home and sleep but the tension in her household was palpable and she couldn't put it off any longer. The Hokage would have to be warned, if Itachi hadn't done so already.

Her shoulder was still aching, the tendons freshly healed. The Kumo-nin had stabbed her collarbone, missed and got her shoulder. It wasn't a fatal wound by any definition but it hurt like hell and Homaru hadn't had enough chakra to fully heal her before the trip back home. She herself had passed out from chakra exhaustion (turned out the missing-nin had allies) and had to be carried back by Kakashi. At least she had defeated two of them before succumbing. It was honestly a bit embarrassing, how quickly she tended to get herself knocked out.

"Ah, Sakura-san. What brings you here so soon?" Sarutobi asked. She bowed politely and took a deep breath.

"There is something important that you need to know, Hokage-sama. Unless Itachi-san has informed you already?" Sakura asked. Hiruzen arched an eyebrow and Sakura assumed that Itachi was yet to do so.

"I have received no word from Itachi in a long time. What is it?"

"The Uchiha are..." Sakura exhaled slowly. "They are planning a coup d'état and takeover of the village. I am not entirely trusted by my clan, for obvious reasons, and as such I am not aware of when they plan to put the plan into action, but it is soon. I'd estimate that we have less than a fortnight before Fugaku attempts to take over the village, or as he puts it ‘to take back what is rightfully ours as co-founders and an important part of the village’." Hiruzen looked unphased at the accusations against one of the most well-known clans in history.

"We will be sure to take preventative measures against the rebellion, thank you Sakura. Your bravery in coming forward is commended. I will inform you, and presumably Itachi and your brother of what I intend to do as we go forward. For now, you are dismissed." He said, voice weary. She turned to go, heartbeat thrumming in her ears. Something made her pause though and she felt her blood run cold at the realisation that there was most certainly a spy in the room. She turned her eyes to the masked Anbu on the right side of the room and focused her eyes on his. To an outsider the Anbu member only shuddered but Sakura had discreetly placed him in a genjutsu of her own design. Capable of securing the victim and ruining their perception of time she walked up to him. The glassy look in his eyes betrayed his state. He would still be in the Hokage's office in his mind, but would be alone. Depending on how strong his mind was it could be for days or hours that he was trapped in his own mind.

"Hokage-sama I believe you have a mole. I suggest that you keep this one in detainment, we wouldn't want news of the rebellion spreading before measures can be taken against it." Sakura said, eyes still fixed on the man. Hiruzen looked at her as if she was insane.

"How are you so sure?" He asked. She pulled the mask off the Anbu's face and pulled out his tongue, the curse seal clearly visible. She felt the Anbu on the other side of the room stiffen slightly in shock.

"Curse seal upon the tongue. So Root's secrets aren't revealed. I'll admit it's a bit of genius really. All Root members carry a tanto instead of a katana and this particular one I recognized. Eh, Kabuto?" He didn't answer her.

"Tsk tsk Miss Uchiha. You sure do know a lot about a secret organisation you shouldn't even know exists, don't you?" A gruff voice sounded. Sakura spun on her heel and stared at Danzo calmly.

"A shinobi must look underneath the underneath mustn't they? And you're rather close to the bottom of the underneath, aren't you?" She said. Danzo raised his chin and turned to the Hokage.

"You are becoming slack with your secret keeping Hiruzen. I am surprised that it took a twelve year-old to figure out someone has been spying on you. You're losing your touch." Danzo taunted. Hiruzen didn’t show any signs of bowing under Danzo’s pressure.

"I'm thirteen, Shimura-san. If there is nothing left for me to report I'll take my leave." Sakura cut in, trying to leave. She didn’t want to confront the Root leader, at least not right then. Danzo caught her arm as she moved past him.

"Little girls should not involve themselves in matters that do not concern them." He said condescendingly. Sakura tapped the said of her nose and shared a conspiratorial smile.

"Of course, but this concerns me deeply. Now if you'll excuse me my father is expecting me for dinner. Goodbye, Shimura-san, Hokage-sama." Sakura said, bowing deeply to Sarutobi. She revelled in the flare of chakra that Danzo sent out at her words. Insubordination was never the most rewarding thing, except when it came to Danzo and Fugaku.

~~

"We have a mission."

"What?"

Kakashi Hatake gave his teammate an incredulous expression. Despite being a genius and natural Sharingan user, Sakura Uchiha could be rather dim at times. She was only thirteen and still growing up, unlike himself and her two teammates, thus they dwarfed her tiny form immensely. He, being the tallest of the group, had more than a foot of height on her while Homaru had exactly a foot and Hikaru eight inches.

Still she was stronger than all three of them combined and could do extensive damage at close range. He noted that she preferred long-ranged combat though, standing back and assessing so that she used the smallest amount of chakra possible. She had been the perfect choice for a second-in-command, despite the fact that she always put her teammates' safety before the mission and the mission before herself.

"I said we have a mission. To Kusagakure. They're dealing with some particularly deliberate attacks by a missing-nin. Apparently children and adults – both shinobi and civilians – are being abducted from the village by an unknown assailant. The only information they have is that whatever is abducting them isn't human and none of the hostages have been returned. The attacks have been getting more frequent and the village can't cope with the diminishing number of inhabitants. So as their good allies they have agreed to hire us as a hunter-nin squad to take out whatever has been kidnapping people and return said people if possible." Kakashi explained. Sakura got paler as he talked and nodded grimly, her mouth set in a straight line.

"When do we leave?" Hikaru asked. Kakashi turned to his team's tracker and ran a hand through his silver hair. Used to being mistaken as old Kakashi had pretty much gotten over the insult, though it still stung (he was only twenty four after all).

"Tomorrow. Mission length is expected to be three weeks minimum. We also have to do damage control." Kakashi said. The three of them nodded in unison and jetted off to get the necessary supplies, leaving Kakashi to his thoughts.

He wandered through the village, knowing full well why his Team's youngest member was so tense about going on a mission right then. Sarutobi had always trusted him implicitly and the information about the coup the Uchihas were planning was the kind of information he was privy to.

He'd always known that the Uchiha craved power to an insane degree but planning to take over the village was going more than a little bit too far. If not for the three semi-sane Uchiha of the younger generation Kakashi had no doubt that the coup would work. Fugaku was nothing if not resourceful. But now that Sarutobi was removing two of his allies to go and help another village he was putting himself at a disadvantage. Sakura had been sure that the coup would happen within the next week and now they had a three week mission to Kusa of all places.

Hopefully Itachi and Shisui would be enough to quell Fugaku, along with the privileges Sarutobi was willing to offer to the clan. Having three seats on the village council after having none would be a huge shift in power. Maybe even enough to turn the village in their favour from the inside.

Kakashi turned a corner and went down a village path that led him past the playground. He watched Sakura's young cousin as he chased Minato's son around, a pink-haired girl following after them and another blonde shouting at them from atop the jungle gym. How young children like this turned into the power loving maniacs of the older Uchihas he didn't know.

As he hung his head and passed by the playground entrance a small hand tugged at his pants and he found himself staring into his sensei's eyes once again. It was remarkable how similar the two of them looked really.

"Hello, do you need something?" Kakashi asked softly. Naruto looked shocked that he had even replied. The boy looked down for a moment before smiling up at Kakashi again sheepishly.

"You're friends with Sakura-nee-chan right?" Naruto asked. Kakashi blinked and raised his eyebrows.

"Depends, what do you want to know?" Kakashi asked. Naruto rocked on his heels and Kakashi watched Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. The spiky-haired Uchiha was glaring Kakashi down for making Naruto uncomfortable and he had brought the situation to the attention of the two girls as well.

"Um, is Sakura-nee-chan okay? She never talks to us anymore and Sasuke-kun thinks it's because of you but Ino-chan says it might be because she has a boyfriend and Chibi-Saku says that she's just tired of all her missions and since you hang around her so much I thought that I should ask you." Naruto looked a bit panicky. "But you can't tell her that I asked you or she might be angry that I didn't go to her directly instead and if she gets angry she's really scary and I don't want to see her when she's scary. You know cause her eyes go all cold and red and she hits people really hard and-"

"Woah, slow down there. Sakura-san is only a teammate of mine but she is dealing with a lot right now. Maybe you should just give her a chance to relax and get over whatever is happening. I'm sure she misses you just as much as you miss her." Kakashi assured him. Naruto looked upset but ran back to his group in any case.

Kakashi went back to his musings and attempted to continue on his path to home.

'Attempted' being the operative word.

"Hey old man! I don't know who you think you are but Sakura-hime is my cousin and I won't let you steal her from me! I'll defeat you if that'll bring her back!" A high-pitched voice shouted. Kakashi's visible eye widened as a child threw himself at him with a vengeance. The kid started punching him ineffectively and Kakashi picked him up by the collar, careful not to choke him. He didn't want Sakura to beat him up for hurting her cousin.

"Woah, slow down their soldier. I'm not stealing Sakura from anybody. But if you want to see her you'd better do it now. We're going on a three week mission tomorrow." Kakashi said. Sasuke looked devastated and Kakashi dropped him before shunshin-ing away.

He really couldn't understand kids, but he understood the sentiment.

He half wished he had had as much friendship as a child.


	4. Rubato

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this has been finished for months i am a terrible person i apologise (only delayed because it completely goes in a different direction to the original and i didn't want to seriously confuse anyone over on ff.net where it's mirrored.)

Sakura pulled on her leather gloves, worn with age and use. They hugged her fingers comfortably and she relaxed into the well-known sensation. They were getting a bit small for her now, but she didn't want to buy new ones, as they had been a collective birthday gift from her munchkin shinobi. Naruto had been reluctant to admitting everyone had put money together to pay for them (as he wasn't able to afford them on his own) but Ino and Chibi-Saku had been quietly persistent with him until he handed them over. How the four of them had known she needed a pair of gloves she wasn't sure but she had a feeling it had to do with her loose-mouthed brother and her tomato-obsessed cousin.

The sky outside was still dark with pre-dawn and everything was silent. She felt alone in her room, though she knew that she would meet up with her team in an hour. Sakura took a deep breath and exhaled, straightening the creases in her clothing. She missed her future. It always happened when she had too much time to think. She would remember, then nostalgia would set in. The age old rule of 'humans remember the better times' applied well to her. She disliked the feeling of nostalgia, as it implied regret - though that was not to say that she didn't feel any regret.

She absent-mindedly touched the middle of her forehead and brushed over the lilac-coloured diamond. She usually slept with it unconcealed. She couldn't lie to herself while she slept, although she sometimes wished that she could. People saw what they wanted to see, so disguising the seal with a subtle Genjutsu was hardly difficult. Better to blend in than stand out in world of practised spies.

She always felt at odds with this world. She wished that she had someone, anyone at all to confide in. It would be nice to spill the story. A psych examination was about a decade overdue for her. The amount of people in this world that were trustworthy was a dwindling number and despite the fact that she knew a few that she could tell her story to she disliked the thought of another sharing her burden.

She crept downstairs silently, her breath muted and her heartbeat protected by chakra. Her eyes flickered to Shisui's door for a moment and she paused, remembering that she had yet to say goodbye to him. He would still be here when she got back; she was quite sure of that but… well it couldn't hurt to say a quick goodbye.

The door creaked open and she knew he was awake but still kept quiet. He would still be sleepy and she knew he needed rest after his last mission.

"S'kra, what're you doin' up?" He mumbled. Sakura felt a smile tug at her lips and leaned over to kiss Shisui on the forehead. His curls tickled her nose and she felt her heart clench in fear for her brother.

"I've got a mission aniki, just saying goodbye. Please be careful while I'm gone okay? Stay near Itachi, strength in numbers and all that." Sakura whispered. Shisui grumbled and pulled her down, leaving her off balance as she knocked her forehead against his chin.

"Leavin' without a goodbye hug. What has this world come to 'Kura?" He asked. Sakura attempted to hug the oaf back despite her restricted movement, courtesy of the tangle of sheets Shisui had the gall to call a bed.

"Fine, I'm sorry. Itachi promised to keep an eye on you for me though, please don't take my warning lightly. I know you're perfectly capable of defending yourself but," She sighed, "I just have a bad feeling something's gonna happen while I'm gone." She finished. Shisui snorted.

"If anyone needs to be worried it's me. How many times have you come home unconscious? All I'll be doing for the next few weeks is dealing with clan matters. Itachi and I have been removed from the Anbu roster until things die down remember? Besides, it's more likely I'll be taking care of Itachi than him taking care of me. Don't you have any faith in your aniki?" Shisui asked. Sakura kissed his forehead again.

"I do. Just don't die. And you need to water my Hamago while I'm gone. Miya always over-waters it and I end up having to salvage a half-drowned pot-plant whenever I get home." Sakura said. He bumped their shoulders affectionately.

"I'll take good care of your plant. Now hurry up before your taichou shouts at you, imouto." Shisui said. Sakura stuck out her tongue at him and untangled herself from the suffocating blankets. How he managed to sleep in there was beyond her. Still, he dealt with her oddities so she felt it was simply common courtesy to return the favour.

"See you in a couple weeks aniki." Sakura said.

"You too Sakura," He replied. She heard the quiet conviction in Shisui's voice and smiled a bit; he had no idea what kind of hell she was about to be plunged into.

Well to be fair, neither did she.

...

It was pitch dark when they left the village in the early hours of the morning. Sakura’s steps were not as light as they usually were, and Kakashi noticed this but didn’t comment. They planned to stop one town ahead of their destination so that they could change into their new outfits and fit new personas. Perhaps the only mildly humorous thing about this mission was Hikaru’s shamisen case, since the instrument was too delicate to seal in a scroll. The case itself was carefully inscribed with seals to lessen the impact of the wind as they ran, or of the force when they jumped from branch to branch.

It was nice, the even pounding of her feet across the ground and the steady life-forces of her friends around her. Travelling was annoying most of the time, but when it was like this Sakura enjoyed it. The sharpness of the adrenalin in her veins that kept her on high alert was a comforting sensation – one all shinobi came to love and treat like a high. Despite strict drug-use regulations imposed on all shinobi Sakura was well aware that they all got their fixes of something. Whether it was the catharsis found in careful torture that Ino had prided herself on or the powerful, breathless feeling of complete destruction that drove Naruto.

She cleared her thoughts of former times. Even seven years gone by Sakura’s memories had not even begun to decay. She remembered people and things as clearly as if she was still that seventeen-year-old in the war. If anything her memories had only grown sharper, pressing into the insides of her skull with vigour. Every now and again she found herself forgetting simple things that she had done in this world – books she had lent Homaru, or meeting Hana’s little brother Kiba. But her Kiba’s smile was still fresh in her mind, and the image of those very books gathering dust on her bookshelf in her old apartment etched itself deep. It worried her, but she didn’t dare tell anyone about it. It wasn’t as if she could even if she wanted to.

“We’re nearly there, let’s stop at this inn to get ready.” Kakashi said, breaking her train of thought. Sakura nodded and Hikaru slowed them to a halt outside the ‘Little Mirror Inn’. They breezed into the establishment and despite the late hour a man sat scrawling numbers at the reception. He glanced up at them, gave their uniforms and once-over and handed them two sets of keys.

Sakura fingered the soft material of her kimono as she sat on the inn’s bed. It was beautiful, in a stunning gold and orange pattern with little silver bells embroidered onto the hems. It was almost too beautiful, and Sakura had been very reluctant to take it with her, wanting to dress in something less special for this mission, but Mikoto had lent it to her and told her it was perfect for her.

“It matches your eyes.” She had said with a conspiratorial wink, looking over Sakura’s shoulder into the mirror as Sakura tried it on. Sakura had grimaced, not one who enjoyed the restrictiveness of an obi or the elaborate hair ornaments that came with the outfit. Itachi had glimpsed her as he had walked past, and despite his non-committal grunt when Mikoto asked him his opinion Sakura could spy the slightest blush on the highs of his cheeks.

It was precisely for this reason she had been reluctant to use it for the mission. She didn’t know what would happen to her, and would rather it not collect bad memories when it already had good ones attached to it. She sighed and decided she didn’t really have a choice. She wanted to be as believable as possible for this mission.

Hikaru helped her into the kimono and tied the obi, before carefully twisting and plaiting her hair and pinning it to her head. He even helped her powder and make-up her face, far better than she ever could.

“Do you do this for someone?” She asked, as Hikaru carefully pinned ornaments to her hair.

“Yes. The heiress to my clan, Hyuuga Hinata?” He prompted. Sakura gave a hum of acknowledgement so as not to disturb her hair; she knew who she was, “Her ‘bodyguard’ is in all honesty supposed to be given such duties, at least by this age, but Neji is… reluctant, to say the least. So he coerces me into doing it for me, and Hinata never minds. She’s used to it by now I suppose.” Hikaru explained. Sakura ‘aah’ed. She understood that, at least. Hikaru seemed sympathetic to both Neji and Hinata’s sides of the argument.

“Is it tough, right now at home?” Sakura asked. While the Uchiha were not-so-quietly imploding now, she knew the Hyuuga faced similar change within the next few years. Hikaru was quiet for a moment, but sighed and relented.

“It isn’t… easy I suppose, but it never is. Things are shaky with clan leadership, our heiress’s little sister seems to want to take over her role. Things are divided on that choice, and even more so if you consider the branch house members who wish to place Neji as heir. If you could, please don’t tell anyone, even Homaru. I’d rather not make anyone worry too much, you know? But don’t worry about me, since you have your own inner turmoil to deal with, right?”

Sakura sighed. Boy did she.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Us clan cast-outs gotta stick together right?” She asked, holding out her pinky. He grinned and gripped it with his own.

“Of course.”

…

The carriage rumbled into the village loudly, the neighing of the horses and the shrill laughter of a young girl making their presence well-known. It rolled to a stop outside of one of the largest houses in the country. The driver, a stoic young man with elaborately drawn up white hair jumped down to open the carriage door, and all around them villagers looked on curiously to try and catch a glimpse of the no-doubt important person who would descend from the carriage.

The girl who stepped out was young, and dressed head to toe in finery fitting of a princess. She was beautiful in a fresh, flowery way, and when she smiled and chattered eagerly with her carriage driver many people stopped to watch, captivated by her appearance.

Across the road a casually dressed man took in the appearance of the girl, view catching on the bright, deep green of her eyes and the strong slimness of her wrists when her billowy sleeves rode up as she gesticulated. _That’s the one,_ he decided, and walked down the road like he had never been there at all.

…

“It is truly a pleasure to meet you, Makiguchi-sama, I do hope you enjoy this evening’s festivities, even though you were meant to pass through already.” The old merchant said, opening the curtain into the party hall. The careful, masterful sounds of the shamisen filled the room and was interrupted only by the intermittent jingling of the bells in Miaka’s hair. She gave a bright smile to her host.

“Thank you very much, Fuka-sama. I think I should thank the rains on the borders that my trip was delayed. I’m not usually allowed to attend adult parties, so I’m really excited to be here tonight! Isn’t that right Daichi?” She asked, turning to her quiet bodyguard. He offered a soft inclination of the head. Fuka laughed loudly, his laughter booming across the room. Miaka allowed a few giggles herself. The heavy layers of her kimono was restrictive, but she certainly caught attention all across the room, and it wasn’t long before she was swept away into the crowd by people wanting to talk to her. Daichi followed silently, dissuading the more daring men with his glances.

The shamisen provided a perfect backdrop, and everyone was suitably impressed with the level of the playing, including Miaka who clapped loudly every time a song finished. She was enjoying herself very much, feeling all grown-up from the atmosphere. Somewhere along the way she had lost Daichi to some brightly dressed women, but had forgotten that already and instead was sampling the delicious array of snack foods available.

“Excuse me, Makiguchi-sama, if I'm correct?” A voice interrupted. Miaka turned, startled. A young man stood behind her, sandy blonde hair left wild across his face, and droopy eyes smiling at her. She relaxed a bit.

“Ah, yes. I'm Makiguchi Miaka, but I prefer Miaka, if you don't mind” She said. He nodded and bowed at the waist. He was dressed far more plainly than most people in the room, but something about his posture spoke of someone of high regard, and Miaka unconsciously straightened herself up in response.

“Yuu, at your service milady. I noticed you earlier in the evening, and I assumed you weren't sure of the drinks since you look young. Would you mind if I accompany you to the drink table? I can find you something non-alcoholic.” He offered. Miaka wasn't sure, and he could see she was hesitating.

“I see you're worried about accepting help from a stranger - I understand. Would you prefer it if your bodyguard knew whom I was?” He asked. Miaka didn't want to appear like a child who couldn't take care of herself but… She glanced across the room to where Daichi attempted to wave off the attention of the young women in the room, and he caught her eye. She tilted her head to gesture that she was going with this man and Daichi nodded. She knew she’d be fine. Daichi knew what the man looked like.

“It's fine.” She said resolutely, and accompanied Yuu to the tables.

“Here,” He said, picking randomly from the table and holding out a small glass, “This one is just fruit punch. I'll have some too.” He offered, and grabbed another random glass off of the table to drink from. He drank first, and when after a minute he was fine Miaka chanced it with her own. She felt immediately off. Her head ached, and her heartbeat stuttered, and she had to lean against the table for support.

“I… don't feel well.” She mumbled. Yuu looked down at her concerned.

“Do you want some fresh air?” He asked. She nodded, her vision getting blurry. He led her outside onto an open balcony. The bracing air helped her think a little better.

“Who are you?” She asked shakily, and Yuu grinned too wide.

“I'm an artist,” He answered, and Miaka closed her eyes and fell.

…

When Sakura felt the lack of another presence in the room she opened her eyes warily. Her acting had been good, and she had feigned the necessary symptoms to ‘Yuu’s poison well enough that he’d taken her for unconscious. She was just lucky that it was a particular one that she had come across before.

The room she was in was dark and empty except for herself. There was another chakra signature in the building, and it was familiar, but not in a good way. She sat up and noted the bells missing from her hair. It was good though, despite the cost of the hair ornament, because it meant she hadn’t made any more noise when sitting up.

Freeing herself didn’t take long, and she quietly reduced her presence, leaving a small pulsing trace of her chakra across the floor in the room to simulate an unconscious body. Her teammates would be waiting for her signal before following her, but she wanted first to look for the hostages before she brought shinobi upon the place.

She slid out of the room she was held in and walked down the corridor, avoiding the other chakra signature. It was an underground hideout, and none of the rooms had doors bar the one, so she peaked into each room as she walked past. Each one made her grimace more and more.

Bodies, strung up and hacked to pieces littered workbenches. One room contained a whole person lying in an unknown solution, an expression of terror carved onto their face. Another had puppet parts intermingled with human limbs scattered around it. Each of them has something distinct about them. Bright hair, or eyes or a particular scar. But not a single child. She recognized the work well enough, and made the necessary hand signals to contact her team. This was a more serious situation than they had expected.

“Oh, you’re awake, hime? Gone for a little walk?” A voice said behind her, sending shivers down her spine. It was a voice she knew all too well.

“Ah, I was just lost,” Sakura said, hiding the anger in her voice, “I’ll be taking my leave now.” She said, and just then felt her teammates presences above her head. She waved with a smile and drove her fist upwards, the ceiling of the hideout shattering neatly in a 2m across hole. She _may_ have used a bit of wind chakra to control the hole size and debris. They still needed the items in the hideout for evidence after all.

She jumped straight out of the escape hole, and made a hand signal to her team.

 _“S-class,”_ She motioned. They nodded and fanned out as their target attempted to escape behind them. Together she was pretty sure they could take him on, but the last time she had fought this enemy she had had a lot of help and still struggled. She looked to Kakashi for orders as their opponent used the settling dust to escape, rushing past Homaru so fast they couldn’t blink before he was gone.

 _“Leave him,”_ Kakashi motioned, and ordered them to examine the hideout rather – search for any still living hostages. Sakura set her mouth in a grim line and nodded. Knowing what was down there it was unlikely he would leave everything and just run for it. He’d be back.

…

_“Dove, hold position. Sparrow, report.”_

_“Target is heading Northwest, towards Dove’s location. Sparrow is too far to assist. You’re closest to Dove, Inu.”_

_“_ _This is Dove, Should I pursue?”_

_“With caution, I will follow as soon as possible. Crane, prepare medical backup.”_

_“Yes. Pursuing as ordered.”_ Sakura spoke into the mic. She jumped from tree to tree, hoping to cut off their target before he got there. Though Kakashi was the closest to their position he was still far enough off that he would take a while to get there.

She didn’t bother trying be too quiet. He knew she was there already, and when she landed, her feet skidded back a few meters in the dry leaves of the forest floor. He slid to a halt in front of her, menacing features glaring out at her from beneath a cloak.

“Sasori of the Red Sand. I should have expected it. Hiding in your puppet body already? I didn't take you for a coward." Sakura snarled. Sasori's puppet body Hiruko glared at her. She was unsure of whether or not Sasori could manipulate his puppets facial features or whether he simply liked the look of a glare on his work. She assumed the latter.

"My my, what a good eye you have. You were able to tell without getting close to me at all. Well, I wouldn't expect someone such as yourself to get so close to me in any case." Sasori retorted. Sakura grinned under the carefully moulded mask that sat flush against her face. His puppet's tail shot out and shredded the tree she had been standing in front of mere seconds before, just barely grazing the radio at her hip and sending it flying. Her fingers flexed and her muscles tensed as she pushed herself off the ground, dodging another strike as her braid made an arc where her head had once been.

"Tsk tsk, getting cocky in battle usually results in defeat, no? A former member of Sunagakure's Puppet Brigade and a genius puppeteer. It's an honour to be meeting you on the battlefield today, though I am disappointed that it is not as yourself." Sakura taunted. A few discreet hand seals and a deep breath let a fuuton jutsu burst forth in the blink of an eye, wind currents shredding the thick metal tail to pieces.

"I am not one to show face. Unfortunately I am not aware of who you are, though I am familiar with Konoha's little Anbu division. You're like mosquitoes. I can't quite seem to get rid of you." Sasori said. Sakura snorted. She expertly dodged the next barrage of senbon, fifty of them impaling the ground and trees around them. Her eyes carefully catalogued the shine of liquid across the sides of them, recalling her last fight with the red-headed puppeteer. She had no doubt that they were covered in some sort of debilitating paralytic and she wasn't about to find out.

"Well perhaps if you refrained from kidnapping people for the sake of practising the creation of human puppets we wouldn't be chasing you down as much. We're only following orders after all." She said. Sakura gracefully dodged the sharpened needles and moved closer to Sasori, calculating the weight of each poison-coated senbon in her mind. As she moved closer Hiruko's mouth opened, allowing highly pressurized water to gouge a metre deep groove in the ground before Sakura. Her hands blurred into the pattern for a katon jutsu and she sucked in a breath. The air in front of her filled with steam as the hottest flames she could manage met the pressure of the water, and her hair puffed up as if she were a cat.

"Following orders is for useless subordinates. Precisely why I left Suna in the first place." Sasori said lazily. Using the steam as a temporary screen Sakura discreetly started sealing a genjutsu, just enough to give her the upper hand and a bit of time to inform her teammates of her whereabouts. The red-haired puppeteer had cut off her communication lines and drawn her away from her last location quickly.

"Your inability to lie amuses me. You left Suna for your own reasons, and they had nothing to do with you being treated like a subordinate." She hissed. She moved silently through the mist, laying seal covered paper against the trees and ground.

"What would you know? You're just a little girl, merely a toy for the amusement of your higher ups. A talented toy, but a toy nonetheless." Sasori said. Sakura smiled and sent a small surge of chakra through the ground, changing its structure to suit her needs.

"Ah, that is true. But let me ask you this," Sakura began. Sasori broke free of the genjutsu just as Sakura finished laying her lines, "What do you fight for, when there's nothing left?" She asked. She dropped from her wires. A fly in a spider's web, the saying fit Sasori's situation well.

"You don't." He answered.

The puppet exploded, each strand of ninja wire hung around the forest tensing at the force. Sakura sent a surge of chakra into the strings, letting her chakra engulf Sasori's so that his control over Hiruko would be severed. Sakura flipped herself clear of the impact zone and kept her eyes carefully trained on the decimated puppet armour. Sasori soon emerged, looking thoroughly pissed and a lot older than she remembered.

He still wore his old Suna uniform. Nostalgia perhaps? Or rather he felt that no one ever saw his real self in any case. He looked to be in his late twenties, with visible scars instead of the perfect visage his eventual puppet body would maintain. Still he looked too similar to the person she met and fought with in her past to be anyone else. The red hair was a dead giveaway, coupled with the constantly half-lidded eyes and bored expression. Sasori twitched slightly under her scrutinage and Sakura felt a smirk twist her features.

"And that's when peace is achieved. Wouldn't you agree? Unfortunately," Both of them blurred into action as Sakura pulled herself into the trees, ducking and weaving through the thick foliage of Kusagakure. "People always find something to fight for." Sakura finished. Sasori - despite being a puppeteer - kept up with her regular pace well, though she knew that the moment she sped up he would lose sight of her. Her mission was to lead him away from the village and somehow contain him. Her muscles tensed as she jumped a large gap and grabbed onto the branch above her, swinging across the narrow ravine. Her mind raced through the symbols Naruto had once shown her.

She slowed down a bit, giving Sasori the chance to catch up as she prepared herself to do the sealwork. He sped towards her with a vengeance, seemingly reluctant to take out his Kazekage puppet, something which she was amazingly grateful for. She stopped, spun herself over Sasori and channelled chakra into her punch, sending him crashing into the forest undergrowth. She had to be careful though, as she had managed to kill a person with the blunt force trauma on its own before and right now she needed Sasori on her side.

He lay there in pain for about two seconds before fixing a glare that could melt icebergs on her. Sakura set to work as he tried to get up. She traced lines across his shoulders in chakra, leaving a visible glow across the brown uniform and up his neck. As she completed the array Sasori froze and Sakura felt herself relax into her 'alert – danger' mode rather than the 'warning – impending death' one she had been in for the duration of the fight.

She wouldn't be taking any chances with this one, and thus she bound him with more expertly seal covered rope and dragged him along behind her. He kept grumbling indignantly as she pulled him along the forest floor.

"I am human you know. I can chafe." Sasori complained. Sakura snorted and sat him down against a tree, crossing her legs and plopping herself down in front of him. She busied herself with reconnecting the wires of her radio.

"Too bad, should have thought of that before you became an S-class criminal." Sakura said. She grinned as he glowered at her from his bonds. The little bits of the smashed radio were fiddly but field repair was something necessary to every shinobi's training and she was more than capable of fixing the thing herself.

"That isn't exactly anyone's first worry when they abandon their country." Sasori muttered. Sakura nodded sympathetically.

"Yeah I guess not. So why did you leave Suna?" She asked. Sasori blinked at her owlishly.

"Is that really an appropriate question to ask your captive?" He countered. Sakura shrugged. She had a vague idea from what Chiyo had mentioned to her but nothing solid. Understanding your opponent was key in any battle and if she intended to sway Sasori to at least keep a fragile alliance with her then she would have to be aware of as much as possible.

"Well if I get you back to Suna you'll likely be executed. Wouldn't you rather let your 'life's work' continue in your absence?" Sakura asked. Sasori huffed.

"My kind of work can't be replicated, at least not by the likes of any Konoha shinobi. Even my ex-comrades would be wary of my genius. Human puppetry is an exact science, not something I can simply tell you about and you'll be able to do it. Besides, the likeliness of me escaping on the way to your 'village' is good. I'm not an S-class criminal for nothing." Sasori said. Sakura connected a pair of bronze wires.

"I'm not denying your credibility, rather thinking of the fact that the suppression seal I've fitted you with is an Uzumaki original. Took me years to learn but rather handy. You can't move anything below your head as long as the seal holds, which should be about three days, despite the fact that I am nowhere near being a seal master." Sakura explained. Sasori arched a brow but somehow managed to keep his eyes completely level.

"I haven't seen such an array since the downfall of Uzushiogakure, true, though I doubt the fact that you found an Uzumaki to teach you. They tend to stay in hiding." He said. Sakura sent him a look and tinkered a bit more.

"Why so interested?" She asked. Sasori didn't smile, though Sakura highly doubted he was capable of smiling. It didn't seem like his sort of thing.

"Sealwork is much like my art. It can be timeless, and thus it appeals." He said. Sakura finished hooking up her radio.

"Well that's it then. You ever going to get to the reason why you left Suna? I know you stayed around it for a few years so don't lie and say you hated the sand or something, as annoying as it is." Sakura asked. Sasori scowled and kept his mouth shut for a moment.

"Fine, I left because I got bored. Suna was stifling me, my parents were dead and I couldn't continue my research with my grandmother constantly hovering over me. It's that simple."

"You were so stupid. Leaving the village as if life on the run is any better. Tell me when you get as strong as you'd hoped." Sakura said. Sasori snorted.

"You arrogant Konoha shinobi, always on about 'one tree many leaves'. Society has made you weak." Sasori spat. Sakura pressed a kunai up against Sasori's jugular and stared at him calmly, her tomoe spinning in a frenzy. He regarded her as if she was some mildly interesting play thing, fit only to be used by a child.

"I am entirely capable of killing you, as I am sure you are aware. I could have killed you the moment we entered battle, or as soon as I bound you." She said, monotone. Sakura traced her nail along Sasori's cheek and smiled as he flinched.

"So why didn't you?" He asked. Sakura clicked her tongue and tapped Sasori on the nose.

"Because you may prove to be useful to me in the future. Loose cannons are not useful to me however, and so far I have gotten rid of those who have proved to be too reckless." She said. Sakura dug the blade into Sasori's skin a bit farther. "So prove to me that you're useful. I know what you're capable of; killing the Third Kazekage was quite a feat of genius for such a young boy. Still, you weren't smart enough to hide your capabilities." Sakura pulled back, the thin line across Sasori's throat leaking blood.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He gritted his teeth and Sakura revelled in the fact that she had elicited such a reaction from him.

"There is a group after your particular skill set. They'll find you regardless of what warning I give you, but the heads up will at least help you somewhat. S-ranked criminals can be so difficult to deal with. Watch out for anyone who offers you any sort of protection in the form of an organization. Join them if you must, but stay wary of them at all times. I suspect you'll be challenged to a duel of sorts." Sakura explained. Sasori struggled against his bonds.

"You aren't making any sense. Why would I believe anything you say? You don't understand anything, you're just a child." He argued. Sakura knelt back down to Sasori's eye level.

"Look here; I've seen many worse things than you have. I lived through a war, watched my best friend kill herself, worked with the mangled insides of someone who was forced to swallow a bomb. I've lost everything time and again. I'm not going around killing people for the sake of finding 'perfection'. Perfection doesn't fucking exist. You know that just as well as I do. You know that if you go any further down the path you've chosen it'll only end up with you dead, in the hands of whatever hidden village's investigation squad you land up in and they'll cut you up to learn all your techniques. So what if Suna was 'holding you back'? Sure you didn't have parents, but neither do half of the people who become Shinobi. In a few weeks I might be forced to kill my own parents. Spare yourself and your grandmother. It's not worth it."

Sasori didn't say another word.

…

Sakura stood in the emptiest forest on the planet. It was devoid of sound other than that of running water and she had yet to see an animal. She was secretly thankful for the silence. She had not received word from Konoha since the start of the mission and was beginning to get antsy. She felt a familiar chakra signature pulse nearer to her location and turned her head in that direction, waiting for Hikaru to appear.

The dark-haired shinobi appeared silently from the clearing edge and paced towards her calmly, taking his stance on the opposite side of the large tree. Sakura closed her eyes for a moment and allowed her bloodline limit to fade back into nothingness. Despite how used to the tiny chakra drain it provided she was it was still nice to stop it every now and again. She kept her shoulders tense though as she blinked her eyes open. It always amazed her how much blurrier the world looked just after deactivating her Sharingan.

"Any word from there?" She asked.

"Monkey hasn't been forthcoming. Much less him." Hikaru said.

"Very well then."

They didn't wait very long before Kakashi and Homaru arrived on the scene, taking in Sakura with what seemed to be apprehension. Homaru set to work healing her ankle and soon she felt her shoulders ease from the lack of pain. She sat with her back against the trunk of a tree and though she couldn't hear them she could sense Kakashi and Hikaru discussing in a nearby clearing. She couldn't see Homaru's face but from the subtle heave of his shoulders he was tired. He had every right to be in truth. Kakashi soon came back and helped Sakura up as she tested her ankle.

"So, no sign of him?" Kakashi asked. Sakura shook her head and pulled back her hair, gathering it back into its regular ponytail. Kakashi grimaced.

"Well we found the few alive hostages and what was left of the others, at the very least. It seems like he just completely disappeared. From what I've heard about him he isn't stupid enough to head into a place like Rock. So that means he probably headed towards Rain or Waterfall." Kakashi said. Sakura nodded, knowing full well that Sasori had backtracked towards Rock Country, off on the way to Wind.

"I think it's high time we head home. Do you think the villagers will be alright?" Sakura asked, “Ah, I haven’t thanked Fuka-san for his help yet.”

“Don’t worry, if you write him a letter it should be fine. After you saved his daughter last year he’s been plenty happy to help you, after all.” Homaru said. Kakashi nodded and they set off, Sakura's ankle barely throbbing in time with her heartbeat. They had quite a distance to cover, as Konoha sat at the border of Fire Country, originally meant to serve as protection for the Daimyo.

They stopped at the first shinobi friendly inn in sight and breezed through with a simple genjutsu and a smile. They only bothered getting one room with a couple of beds in it. All the better to keep watch from. She and Kakashi agreed to take first watch and she found herself sitting on the inn's roof, staring half-heartedly at the moon and worrying about what was going on back home at the village.

"Hey, you okay?" Kakashi asked warily – always unsure when it came to talking to other people. He sidled up next to her and plopped himself down. She shot him an unamused look before going back to her childish sulking. She was well within her rights to sulk. She had only turned thirteen a few months prior.

"I know you know something. Why don't you just tell me?" She half-pleaded. Kakashi ran a hand through his already ridiculous hair but didn't even sigh. Sakura had half a mind to start pouting but the more rational side of her decided otherwise and she settled for levelling a blank stare at him instead.

"I honestly don't know any more than you do. Things have been too quiet since we left. I understand that you're anxious to get back but those two needed a break, and so do you. Why don't you go and sleep, I'll take first watch." He said. Sakura fought to keep in any snappish comments. Kakashi didn't deserve to deal with her problems so she just nodded and got up before slipping into their room.

Staring at herself in the lone bathroom mirror revealed a sleep-deprived kunoichi who looked half mad and Sakura allowed herself to curl up when she got into the bed. It wasn't as comfortable as her own, but she would make do. Better than a sleeping bag in a forest, or strapping herself to a tree. She reached her hand out to turn off the tiny table lamp when the bulb cracked and the room was thrown into darkness. Her hand shook as she pulled it back to her body. How often had bad omens shown to be true in her original timeline?

"Oh no."

...

Itachi stared straight ahead as he soaked up the Hokage's words. His back ached slightly, as he had been standing straight for a long time and even highly trained shinobi needed a break every once in a while. The plan was brilliant, he had to admit. Shisui's unique ability should be more than enough to calm his father down. The whole cohort of clan elders and many of the higher up men and women in the clan were all to blame, but the final decisions always rested with Fugaku. Unlike in some clan Fugaku was not just a figurehead. He was truly a leader of the clan.

Shisui looked mildly apprehensive at the thought of 'hypnotizing' his superior but seemed to be more than happy to do so on the pretence of helping the village. Itachi suspected it also had a lot to do with the fact that Fugaku was against Sakura. Shisui was clearly putting his sister before the clan's secular ideals.

Itachi wanted nothing to do with the coup. Yes, his father was correct in that the Uchiha were treated unfairly. They had been shifted away from positions of power since the founding of the village. But truthfully they had dug themselves into the hole. Starting with isolating their own leader, Madara more than a century ago and ending with them completely cutting themselves off from the rest of the village, enclosing themselves inside their little compound and refusing to mingle with anyone they deemed unworthy of their attention.

It disgusted him. That he had been born into so hateful an environment. It was so obvious that his clan caused their children suffering. Shisui had told him of how lonely it had been before Itachi had come around. And it was obvious to everyone that Sakura outright defied the Uchiha's outlook. Many of his fellow clansmen were arrogant and openly belittled the rest of the village. He supposed that that was what they had been taught to say and that it really couldn't be helped by this point.

Itachi knew he was lucky to be born into a generation in which there were some semi-sane Uchiha. His mother was opposed to her husband's coup, and to the influence he was having on Sasuke. Sasuke was still so young, so mouldable. Itachi was sure that if his father had the chance Sasuke would become just like the rest of the high-and-mighty people in the clan. Itachi was glad that Sakura had come along when she had, giving Sasuke the chance to grow outside of the clan's influence and in a safer and happier environment. Sasuke would be this clan's saviour.

Of that he was sure.

It couldn't be him of course. His heart disease was already progressing at such a rate that even if he were to quit being a shinobi now he would be dead in two decades. It certainly wasn't his fault; his father insisted he become a shinobi, despite knowing full well that his son would die by the age of twenty if he continued fighting so often. He had another child, a backup plan so to speak, so why care about the original? No, that was a bit of an unfair assessment of his father. Fugaku _did_ care, he did, but in the wake of the Uchiha’s grand loss of power and a questionably loyal younger generation he was trying his best to make Itachi a good figurehead for the clan.

He often contemplated going to Sakura about it, his disease. From what he had heard she had progressed at an unnerving speed towards her goal of surpassing Tsunade. He was sure she'd have some idea of what to do with him but he knew that the disease was something he deserved. It was his grand karmic punishment for going along with his father's sometimes tyrannical ways for as long as he had. He had been scared when he was younger, scared of disappointing his father or worse, being exiled from the clan. There had been a few cases of it the past (the most notable being Madara himself) and the thought of such a lonely existence didn't appeal at all.

Still, leaving Sasuke behind pained him. He knew Sasuke had more than enough of a friendship network to support him and Shisui and Sakura would be there for him as he took their father's mantle but he had somehow always imagined himself on the sidelines, watching his brother accepting the position of honour and taking his place as the rightful clan head. It was a foolish dream, considering that Sasuke could not inherit the title if Itachi remained alive.

They were shunted from the Hokage's office and Shisui mentioned visiting the Naka River just to clear his thoughts. A warning sign flashed in the back of his mind at the sentence as he vaguely remembered Sakura warning him to stick to Shisui at all costs. She had trusted him with protecting her brother, in exchange for all the times she had taken care of Sasuke. 'Just keep an eye in him okay? He likes to do things without thinking.' So Itachi – both fulfilling his promise and looking out for a dear friend – shadowed Shisui as he slunk down to the river.

Itachi wasn't quite sure what it was, but something didn't quite feel right that evening. The village was as noisy as usual and people walked around without a care in the world. Shisui also seemed quite tense, despite having his hands in his pockets. They turned onto the Uchiha estate and soon neared the river when Itachi froze. He kneaded his chakra into a ball in his chest as Sakura had shown him and watched for any signs of movement.

"Uchiha Shisui, how nice to see you again. How is that lovely sister of yours doing?” Danzo Shimura said, appearing from the shadows, an expression of ease on his face. He held his hands in front of his body, a sign of openness in the ninja world, though his presence screamed danger.

"Shimura-san, strange that you are on the Uchiha property so late into the day. My sister is fine, away on a mission. If you are looking for my father I can take you to him. It is not far." Shisui said, false cheer in his voice. This was a blatant lie. The nearest houses were too far to call for help, though Danzo didn't necessarily need to know this.

"It is fine. I wanted to talk to you, actually. It has come to my attention that you are in possession of an incredibly powerful doujutsu, unlike the rest of your family's. May I see it? For curiosity's sake, of course." Danzo said. Shisui took a step back.

"I'm afraid not, Shimura-san. That is highly classified information. Now if you'll excuse me I need to return to my home. I'm sure my mother is waiting for me." Shisui said. Danzo stepped forward and rested his cane just in front of Shisui. Itachi tensed and pulled out a kunai.

"Unfortunately that will not be possible." Danzo moved forward with incredibly speed for someone his age and caught Shisui off guard. Itachi readied himself as Shisui activated his Sharingan, effortlessly subduing the insane old man and retreating for reinforcements. Itachi found himself letting out a breath of relief.

Then things spun out of control. Danzo was suddenly in front of Shisui with a kunai in hand; ready to gouge the boy's eye out. Itachi realized that he had escaped from the genjutsu. But how, the only way he could have possibly gotten out of that so quickly… this wasn't the first pair of Sharingan he had attempted to steal.

Itachi moved on autopilot and the kunai sped through the air, manipulated by his wind type chakra, cleanly slicing through Danzo's jugular. Itachi dropped to the ground as the old man keeled over, blood bubbling up between his lips and dripping on the ground. He was dead by the time Itachi reached Shisui.

"What the hell just happened?" Shisui asked. Itachi offered Shisui a hand as he stared at the blood oozing corpse of one of the most influential men in Konoha. Strangely dressed Anbu started emerging from the surrounds and they too stared at the corpse. Itachi narrowed his eyes as he stood above the village elder.

"I don't know, but your sister was a genius to tell me to watch you." He muttered.

...

One thought was running through Sakura's mind the entire return trip to Konoha.

Who died?

She couldn't keep to her squad's pace and begged Kakashi to allow her to set a faster one for herself. She needed to get home as soon as possible. It was urgent. He had relented (against his better judgement and much to her boys' dislike) and made her promise that she would still be alive when they got back to the village.

She ran as fast as she could, and at a pace that was not at all humanly possible. She felt her muscles ache with the chakra strain she was putting them under. Even as Sakura Haruno had she not stretched her muscles past a certain point and she was certainly doing herself damage. None of that mattered though. Her objective was to get to Konoha in time to save whomever it was she needed to save.

As soon as she spotted the looming village gates she renewed her efforts and blasted past the gate guards with no regard for the rules. She simply tossed her hitai-ate out, her chakra signature still freshly embedded in it so that they would allow her to pass and roof hopped until she reached the Uchiha compound. It had never been the most accommodating place in the world but as she touched down in the centre of the district everything was deathly silent.

She kept her steps muffled as she moved through the oppressive estate. The buildings' shadows loomed dark in front of her in comparison to the bleached white of the cobblestone around them. The moon shone down on her and left her in stark contrast to the rest of the world. She hurried her footsteps a bit until she reached her house, jumping up to reach her windowsill and slinging herself into the room. It was dark and as she had left it. The Hamago plant looked lusher than she remembered, which mean Shisui had watered it.

This took away the edge of her panic. The plant looked freshly watered which meant Shisui had still been fine up until at least that afternoon. She stretched out her chakra senses and frowned when she didn't feel the familiar warmth of her brother's signature. Instead she found only her mother's cool flare and when she stretched farther the almost non-existent flare of Miya's in the servant's quarters.

"Where are you?" She whispered to herself. She thought about it when the air pressure abruptly changed. Sakura flattened herself against the ceiling of the room instinctively as shuriken impaled themselves on her dresser. She had a kunai in her teeth and activated her Sharingan, staring out into the dark. Shisui climbed through her open window, followed by Itachi. They both looked tired.

"You owe me." Itachi said softly, flopping onto her bed in a manner typical of Shisui and completely atypical of himself. Sakura dropped from the ceiling and re-holstered her kunai. She gave Shisui a once-over and assured herself that he was still there and alive and well. He wrapped his arms around her and she sighed into his chest, reassured by the steady thump from his chest.

"For what?" She asked, after a moment.

"For putting me through the scenario in which I had to kill Danzo Shimura, subsequently allowing all of his little experiments and many emotionally incapable children run loose and then have to go and spend the day rounding them up, all while worrying about clan politics and keeping your idiot here from worrying himself to death over your condition." Itachi said, voice muffled by the pillow he’d stuffed his face into. Sakura blinked, let go of Shisui and sat down on the ground. She lingered over Itachi's first words and idly wondered if she was dreaming. Danzo was dead, and she had had to do nothing. When planning Danzo's downfall she certainly hadn't imagined anything like this. It was inconceivable.

"Wait, why did you have to kill Danzo?" She asked eventually, mind still not quite able to comprehend the situation. Itachi seemed to melt into her bed covers at the question and Shisui looked around warily. Since it was clear that Itachi was not in the mood to share, Shisui took the floor for him.

"Two days ago Itachi and I had a meeting with the Hokage. His plan is that I use my Mangekyou Sharingan's special ability – Kotoamatsukami – to influence Fugaku into stopping the coup and ending any and all attempts at rebellion. Danzo obviously got wind of this and attempted to steal my eyes for his own gain. He almost got my right eye, had it not been for Itachi I probably would have died right then and there. Luckily you had him tail me, so Danzo was stopped. Unfortunately Danzo left behind a lot of unfinished business, which Itachi and I have the unpleasant duty of cleaning up." Shisui said. Sakura gave herself a couple of seconds for the information to sink in.

“And the children? The ones that were in Root? I imagine the adults could be drafted into Anbu after a check over at T and I, but the kids?” She asked.

"H-how did you know about Root?!" Shisui blurted. Sakura turned to Shisui innocently.

"I'm a highly capable ninja of this village Shisui. I have my own very reliable network of people. Just because I look thirteen doesn't mean I don't have an in with just about every secret organization in the shinobi world.” She said. “So will you answer my question?”

“Most of them were taken to orphanages, unfortunately. The unluckiest ones – the ones too far gone to really save – are still in T&I, and with their luck will probably end up drafted into service pretty soon.” Shisui said. Sakura nodded, unease in her stomach. She knew very well that many orphaned children in the city just ended up being drafted anyway, because the state couldn’t afford to pay for civilian education for them and they had to be able to support themselves eventually. For that many children who were so emotionally scarred…

“There’s nowhere else they could go?”

“Not at such short notice. Root is under lock and key right now, and Anbu members picked by the Hokage are busy looting it for information, but top priority is sorting out Danzo’s political mess. They’ve been shunted to the bottom of the list.” Shisui said sadly. Sakura frowned and crossed her arms.

“I’ll think of something.” She decided. Itachi and Shisui looked at her incredulously.

“You will?” They said in unison.

“Yeah. I don’t feel right, leaving them on their own. They didn’t deserve any of it.”

“Yeah but Sakura, you can’t blame yourself for what Danzo did. What do you think you could do?” Shisui asked. Sakura shook her head, getting up. She was tired and couldn’t think straight away.

“I’m not blaming myself, but I feel like if I can do something I will. Now, it's three in the morning and growing boys need their rest." She shuffled Shisui to her door and kissed his cheek. "Goodnight!"

"Hey-" The door closed with a soft click and Sakura turned the key. She slumped backwards against the door in relief. She needed time to think through the mountain of information that had just been handed to her.

"I'm not moving. I'm too tired. And you still owe me." Itachi mumbled.  Sakura's eyes snapped upwards. She had momentarily forgotten that Itachi was in her room. She traipsed over to him and observed the way he had slumped himself onto her bed.

"I just came back from a mission in Kusa, where I had to deal with a red-haired bastard and severe emotional turmoil because my brother is a baka who doesn't think about his own safety. I'm tired too." Sakura said. Itachi didn't even open his eyes.

"Mhm, tired." He said. Sakura frowned.

"Fine. Stay here then. I'll go share with Shisui." Sakura huffed and plodded down the hallway to her brother's room and ordered him to make space for her, which he grudgingly obliged.

"Why don't you just sleep in your room?" He grumbled.

"Itachi stole my bed." She said.

"And you couldn't have shared with him?" Shisui asked. Sakura felt her face heat up at the thought and elbowed Shisui in the side.

"No, ew. Do you really want your baby sister sharing her bed with other men?" Sakura asked. Shisui stiffened at this.

"Good point."

Danzo's funeral was almost surreal. Most of the village showed up, including the ex-Root shinobi, forming a huge sea of black. Interspersed with the crowd where Jounin and Anbu members to keep things moving and ensure no problems occurred. They moved slowly through a processional to the graveyard. The Uchihas formed a large part of the crowd, moving in sync with the village, but with less emotion on their features than zombies.

Sasuke found himself holding his mother's gloved hand, his brother next to him. It was raining, but there was no wind so the rain fell in straight, unending lines. Itachi seemed more subdued than usual and Sasuke picked up on his uncomfortable mood easily. Itachi looked older than his young thirteen, with his hair in a neat ponytail straight down his back and a black suit. Sasuke hated wearing suits, and this equated to a hatred of funerals in general. It wasn't as if he even knew who this Shimura person was.

Well he did know one Shimura, although only very vaguely. He had been Sakura-nee's sensei for a while. He wondered where she was. Maybe she was sad today, sad for her sensei losing a relative. He hadn't seen her the whole day, and none of his friends had made an appearance. He figured Naruto would come with the Hokage and Sakura and Ino's parents would probably force them along as well, but so far neither of the blondes nor the pinkette had become visible. Then again the rain provided a rather opaque screen, so perhaps they were there and he was simply not aware.

They slowed somewhat as they neared the grave, and Sasuke caught sight of his elusive cousin. She stood with her teammates either side of her. Hikaru and Homaru had also tied their hair up and Sakura wore a knee length black dress with long sleeves and a high neckline. She and her group fit right in with the other mourners and Sasuke squinted at the man she was comforting. He was much older than Sakura or either of her teammates and Sasuke came to the realization that it was in fact her sensei. That this was his father's funeral.

The man did not cry, but his expression was somewhat pained. Sakura whispered words to him that were completely unintelligible from where Sasuke was standing. He wished he could read lips in that moment. Wished he were old enough to be included in the adult conversations. He was always told to leave the room in these circumstances, that he was too young. He was a smart child and knew that if they just gave him a chance he could help out. Even his precious Nee-chan disliked him listening in on her private conversations with Itachi. The other Uchiha youths were always conspiring with each other. Sasuke just didn't want to be left out.

A middle-aged couple and a young girl started to approach them and Sasuke belatedly realized that it was Sakura and her parents. Sasuke recognized the tall red-head as her father and the shorter but still rather tall white-haired women as her mother. Sakura raised her head from under the little black hat and smiled at him, waving softly. A smile spread to his own face.

"Ah, you must be Mikoto, I'm Mebuki, Sakura's mother, and this is my husband Kizashi. Our daughter just wanted to say hi to Sasuke." Mebuki said smiling. Sakura looked up at Mikoto a slight bit worriedly but his mother smiled down gracefully.

"Hello there Sakura, it's nice to meet you. I also have a niece named Sakura but she doesn't have hair like yours. It's very nice." Mikoto complimented. Sakura's face turned slightly pink and she bowed hastily, her hat falling off. It would have splashed into the mud had Itachi not caught it. He held it out to the girl with a tiny smile.

"Be careful not to lose this. It looks expensive." Itachi said. Sasuke elbowed his brother as Sakura took the hat back. Itachi gave his younger brother a shrewd smile.

"Hey 'Kura, are you coming to the playground tomorrow? Ino said that she found a cool game we can play, since Nee-chan won't be there." Sasuke said. Sakura nodded, her pink hair falling into her face without the bow.

"Yeah, and I'm baking cookies tonight with my mom so we can share them." Sakura glanced up at her mother, who was talking animatedly with Mikoto. "But don't tell Naruto-kun. It's a surprise." She whispered. Sasuke made a cross over his heart with his finger and sealed his lips.

"I promise." He whispered loudly. Sakura nodded and tugged on the bottom of her mother's dress. The women smiled down at her.

"Done already? Well I guess that's all we have time for today; it was lovely meeting you Mikoto, despite the occasion. I hope we can have tea sometime." Mebuki said. Mikoto smiled as well.

"Yes, we must arrange something. Come now Sasuke, Itachi, your father is waiting for us." Mikoto said. Sasuke looked around for some sign of said father. He hadn't seen his dad in a while. He had left the compound prior to the funeral, dressed in complicated black robes with a grim expression set on his face. Sasuke had attempted to cheer him up by showing him with essay he had written for his academy class. He had received the second highest score for it, beaten out only by Sakura and only because she was a huge know-it-all. But his father had simply brushed him aside. His mother had commended him and Itachi had even given him a hug but his father's neglect still stung.

He spotted him with all the other clan heads, gathered in a small clump around the Hokage. They seemed to be arguing about something and creating a huge ruckus, the noise dimmed only by the incessant thrum of the rain against the umbrellas surrounding them. Sasuke watched his father get into a heated argument with the Hyuuga clan head as Sarutobi looked on. Sasuke felt his mother loosen her grip as Itachi grasped his hand from the other side.

"Aniki, aren't we going to Tou-san?" Sasuke asked. Itachi squeezed his hand.

"No, otouto, we're gonna go and talk to Sakura-san and Shisui-san. Kaa-san just needs to go see Tou-san for a moment." Itachi said. Sasuke looked up at his brother's kind face and nodded, a little deflated that he wouldn't get a chance to speak with his father.

"Okay, aniki."

...

“Suggestion, not brainwashing.” Sakura said, mind not focusing entirely on the forms she was filing in front of her. The Anbu record rooms were eerie at the best of times and late at night, alone save for the few Anbu members nipping in and out to deliver more work and help with the filing, it was even creepier. Anbu was a quiet group in general, and none of them spoke a word to each other. Sakura sighed, stretched out her aching hand and then continued writing.

The form in front of her related to the children retrieved from the bowels of Root. Shell-shocked and emotionally scarred, most of them weren’t expected to make any sort of recovery at all. But the brightest minds of the community had felt compelled to think of _something_ to remedy the situation. Of the thirty or so children deemed fit to eventually join society only mildly emotionally challenged (which was the natural state of most shinobi in any case), twenty had been identified to be part of various clans within the village – many Yamanaka, Nara and even two Hyuuga kids. The outrage from the clans was obvious, and of the one Uchiha child retrieved – tiny, terrified and with eyes that already spun with the redness of death – Fugaku had seemed at a loss.

The little girl had been given to Uruchi-san to look after since her children were fully grown, and Sakura sometimes saw her walking around the compound unable to switch off her bloodline limit.

Another five were so young they had hardly been traumatized and they had adjusted well to being within the city’s orphanages. They last five, however, were proving a problem. They were already of genin age, but far more experienced, and the first suggestion had been to return them to active duty. Public outcry and warnings from T&I had dissuaded this, though. A few jounin had pooled together to look after them – acting more as guardians than teachers really. Sakura had watched them once, and her heart had ached at the sight of Sai, not even faking a smile as he had when they had first met. His face was blanker than paper.

She wasn’t yet eligible to look after any of them, but every now and again she popped into the Jounin headquarters to deliver documents and watched the kids. Gai usually ruffled her hair and told her she was more than welcome to spend as much time with them as she wanted, but Sakura always hesitated.

“Ah, I’m probably not the best person for that,” She admitted, even as she brushed a young Root girl’s hair in slow strokes. The girl had been tense before, untrusting of Sakura, but had calmed considerably.

“Why not! You are such a youthful cherry blossom of Konoha! They would be lucky to be under your care.” Gai said, eyes sparkling brightly enough to make the room brighter. Sakura thanked him but declined. She wasn’t in a position to be helping them right now, not with the tension at home so palpable.

“Maybe soon,” She said, not promising anything.

She shook her head and continued working. She was weak towards children, she knew she was. How old was she now? Twenty-four, maybe twenty-five. It was getting hard to tell. Either way she was still a bit young for a mid-life crisis. A hand pressed down on her shoulder, but she felt the chakra signature first – obviously the person was trying to avoid being accidentally killed. First rule of shinobi villages – never sneak up on a shinobi.

“It’s late. You should go home.” Itachi said, pulling away her pile of work. Sakura sighed. He was right, but she was worried. If things went wrong in a few days and she died… she had to finish as much work as possible right now or risk losing everything she had done so far.

“Just a few more hours.” She said, grabbing weakly at the stack of papers. He tutted and filed them away for later. Sakura sighed and got up, back aching from sitting too long.

“Come on, we’re the only ones left here except for the guards and the commander. You need rest.” Itachi said, unusually concerned.

“Why are you so worried? I’ve gone with little rest before and managed fine.”

“Little sleep is different to _no_ sleep. I’m not the only one worried,” Itachi said, and chatting eagerly with the Anbu guard at the front of headquarters was none other than Sasuke. While Itachi wasn’t masked, Sakura was. She sighed and slipped hers off – the last thing she needed was letting more people in on her identity. She’d embroiled too many people in her messes already.

“Aniki! Sakura-hime! I was waiting for you!” Sasuke shouted, voice echoing sleepily in the empty hallways.

“And what are you doing here little boy? I didn’t know they allowed rugrats in here anymore,” Sakura said, catching the boy in a hug. Sasuke grinned.

“Ani took me with him when he went to fetch you! I’m a little sleepy but-“ He yawned, “The library is cooler than I remember.”

Sakura raised her eyebrows and gave Itachi a pointed look. ‘ _The library?’_ She signed.

‘ _Either this or leave him at home. It’s not a strong Genjutsu. I’m not particularly trusting of home right now.’_ He replied. She sighed and nodded. He was right, after all.

“Let’s head back then,” Sakura said, and took Sasuke’s hand. She and Itachi bowed to Boar, and Boar saluted them both on the way out.

The Anbu commander watched them quietly from the shadows.

...

Sakura crouched on the roof of the house directly across from the Uchiha's main meeting room. She had her headset connected and her senses on high alert. She kept her sensing on Shisui's chakra in the room below, watching for any flares. Tasked with watching the events unfold and protecting Shisui at all costs Sakura was stationed away from the drama while Itachi was his in the room bodyguard. She scanned the general area again and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. She hopped to the next roof and went through another perimeter check for the sake of it. One could never be too safe.

With pressure mounting and tensions between the clan heads escalating due to Danzo's 'assassination' the plan had been moved forward. Sarutobi had already rounded up all of the clan elders and Shisui was down there now, casting his genjutsu on Fugaku. It was a genius little piece of work, really. Sakura wished she could cast it on someone like Obito and have everything over and done with. It took time though, to do so with subtlety. A genjutsu whose effects could alter a person’s decisions for the rest of their lives was one complicated task – less medical and more magical than anything Sakura cared to use. Despite her many abilities she still preferred things grounded firmly in genuine science.

She absent-mindedly ran a hand through her short hair. She had given up with tying her hair up, it always got in the way during battle so she had asked her mother to cut it for her and had ended up with black strands that fell to her shoulders. It suited her, though she was unused to not having bangs.

Out of the corner of her eye Sakura caught an unusual movement and drew her kunai, only to find herself in-between two houses with a hand wrapped casually around her throat. She looked up into the familiar orange mask and smiled. Inwardly she shivered with terror, every horrible memory that she had tried to supress with time flashing bright in her mind. Her hands became clammy, her heartrate exploded into a _presto._ She had been wondering when she would meet Obito.

"Who are you?" Obito addressed her first and tilted his head, as if contemplating whether to kill her now or after she answered the question.

"Sakura Uchiha. If you're looking for Itachi I'm afraid you've caught the wrong protégé." She said, the fear in her voice difficult to disguise. He stepped closer and Sakura willed herself not to look into his eye.

"You have traces of my chakra all over you. It's different, but still mine. Very faint, as if the jutsu was cast a long time ago. Maybe six, seven years?" Obito noted. Sakura's own eyes widened. Seven years? But seven years ago...

"Do you ever miss this place?" She asked, the pressure on her throat threatening to crush her windpipe. Sakura was stalling, and she knew it. She needed to of course, considering that she wasn't quite prepared for this situation and the fact that Shisui still needed time to complete the jutsu.

"Why do you care? You're going to die in any case. Pretty soon too. You look pretty weak for an Uchiha. Reminds me of myself." Obito said. Sakura's smile fell. She couldn't believe that she felt even remotely bad for the guy but she did.

"Yeah, I don't exactly fit in here. They're not real big fans of the idea of 'love'. As you said, they'll be dead soon in any case, so that's neither here nor there." She replied. He regarded her again and pulled back, the hand on her throat leaving for the moment. She slid back down the wall and coughed hard, struggling to regain her handle on the situation. Why couldn’t anyone hear her?

"Who are you really? You know too much to be an ordinary Uchiha." Obito asked. Sakura smiled. She let chakra trickle into her eyes and examined Obito's chakra flow, noting that he was correct in his observation that she was covered in his chakra signature. That was utterly disconcerting.

"Well I'm not exactly the regular Uchiha, not really. I wear just as much of a mask as you do, Obito." Sakura whispered, not even able to blink before she was slammed against the wall. The hand closed around her throat and choked her as he pulled her upwards.

"That's not my name anymore." Obito growled. Sakura lifted her chin to look at him, her hair falling in a neat curtain around the fingers currently stealing her breath and smiled sweetly. Obito looked like he had been hit and stumbled back, letting Sakura drop to the ground. She hacked harder, her throat sore and her lungs burning from oxygen deprivation. Her fingers came up automatically to heal, fingertips glowing green by the ruined cartilage under her skin.

Obito looked at her once more. She noticed his hands shaking slightly and inched forwards, wondering what ghost she resembled from the look in his eyes. When he looked up he made a soft noise of frustration before the alley was hit by a gust of wind.

As soon as Sakura blinked he was gone.

...

Sasori moved quickly through the sand, the air before him glimmering with the heat. He had forgone his usual puppet armour, despite having repaired it after his brush with the Konoha girl. He still couldn't get the meeting out of his head. She had taken his logic, dropped it on the ground and stomped on it, effectively leaving him with no idea as to what to do next. He had subconsciously dragged himself back towards Suna and soon regretted it. It still hurt to go back to that place especially after so many years avoiding it.

He had tried destroying a village to get rid of some of the tension but all he could imagine was his grandmother shaking her head at him or that infernal woman mocking his childishness. She was younger than him, yet she had spoken with such a measure of pain that he couldn't do much more than believe her.

The sand that he had grown up around swirled around his legs and the sun beat down on his head, leaving sweat trickling down his face. It was hot in the desert, and he idly wished he had chosen to wear Hiruko. At least then he wouldn't have sand in his clothing.

He saw someone approaching in the distance and his eyes widened when he noticed the long cloak she wore. It was black and red, and clashed madly with her blue hair and white paper flower.

"Akasuna no Sasori. I am Konan, a representative of the criminal organization-"

"Akatsuki. I know. What do you want with me?" Sasori asked suspiciously. The girl had been right. They had come for him and now he either had to join or be killed, he assumed.

"We want you to join us as we work towards our goal. We offer protection and money. If you are uncertain we can duel. If I win-“ Konan began.

"Yeah yeah, if you win I join. Not in the mood. Let's go." He said, not wanting to use up time and energy. He could very plainly feel Konan’s level of power, so he wasn’t going to waste time getting himself humiliated. Sasori watched as the women regarded him with a raised eyebrow but took it in stride. Sasori pondered on the Konoha girl's words. Everything was exactly as she had said it would be.

Perhaps her words held more weight than he had expected.

...

It was the talk of Konoha. The Uchiha had gained a seat on the village council and were starting to open up to the wider community. The usually oppressive compound gates were wide open and the Naka River – famed for its beauty and tranquillity, once a jealously guarded item of the Uchiha – was now open to the public.

Fugaku, the once stoic man, now stood at the forefront of this movement, while the rest of the influential clansmen looked on disgusted. Sakura was amazed the difference Shisui's jutsu was able to make.

Shinji had quietly faded into the background, or rather into a cell somewhere in Anbu's interrogation unit, along with many of the clan elders and a few other men and women of the clan that had been reported to be more happy to burn the village than find a peaceful way to win. Misori knew of the operation and though she cared for her husband, she knew his support of the coup would not go unpunished. She assumed her role as the head of the household.

Sakura spent most of her days following the would-be-massacre reading through piles and piles of scrolls that had been shoehorned inside the Root archives and occasionally meeting with the Root children themselves. The sheer amount of information was ridiculous and she devoured each scroll with more vigour than the last. She was in her element, studying and cross-referencing until she knew everything there was to know about what had happened in the dingy halls of Root.

But her thoughts kept wandering as she examined another carefully encrypted scroll. The night of Obito's sudden appearance still gave her chills. She knew he had been in the village to collect Itachi; that he was in the process of forming the Akatsuki. She had stayed in touch with Sasori who had begrudgingly admitted to joining them despite her warning and relayed that they were definitely suspicious and gathering members quickly. Unfortunately the most anticipated member had yet to arrive.

She was aware that she still had about five years before the group would start moving, but she needed that time to plan, and hopefully get rid of Orochimaru in the process. She could only do so much from within the walls of Konoha.

Her spy network was small but reliable. Deidara was very trustworthy, and he provided a steady stream of updates on what was going on over in Iwa, though it was currently very little. She had a few spies in Rice Country, the future sight of the Otogakure. After saving their lives during a particularly nasty landslide they had gladly offered their services to her. They made brilliant spies, getting her almost all the information she needed. She had a network of contacts across Fire and one in Amegakure who kept an eye on its leadership for her.

But this was not enough. Even with Sasori on the inside now she needed to be more sure. If at all possible she needed to get into the Akatsuki herself, but she doubted that after that brief meeting with Obito she would be able to get in undetected. For now her only option would be to get away from the village for a bit, set up some more contacts and maybe find a way to support Zabuza and Mei in their efforts against Yagura.

Perhaps she could even get in contact with Tsunade, get her to return to Konoha earlier or even Jiraiya. He was a goldmine of information and would be a great help in tracking the Akatsuki's movements.

For now she would stay though. Enjoy her time with her makeshift family while it lasted and make sure she didn't leave any loose ends. She looked over the stacks of scrolls to Shisui, his feet rested on Danzo's desk as he mouthed the words he read. He always did so when he was bored and she laughed softly. Itachi stared at a scroll with a glazed over look in his eyes, as if he was far away in dreamland. She didn't blame him. Most of this stuff was useless, unless you knew where to look.

She shifted and settled down to continue with her third stack. She would be here for a while.

...

"I would like to resign from Anbu, if you would allow me to do so, Hokage-dono." Sakura asked. Sarutobi watched her carefully and took a long drag from his pipe before lowering it. Sakura knelt before him with her mask held out. He took it from her hands and studied it carefully. She didn’t know if her request would be denied. With so many Uchiha out of commission they were low on manpower in the higher up sectors of the village, and that was her greatest chance.

"Very well. You are now a Chuunin of the village once again Sakura. May I ask why you made this decision?" Sarutobi asked. Sakura got up, took a deep breath and steeled herself.

“I… would like to take a student.” She said. Sarutobi raised his eyebrows. Sakura fought the urge to fidget. It was an odd request, certainly. She was only fourteen, after all – fifteen soon but not quite _that_ soon. Becoming a sensei had less to do with competence and more to do with character (which was why she was still confused as to why Sarutobi had tried to get Kakashi to teach at all – for Naruto or Sasuke she understood, but she felt sorry for all the teams before them).

“ _A_ student? Singular?” He asked. Sakura nodded. It was selfish of her really, but she wasn’t mature enough (in others’ eyes) to take a whole team of them, but she wanted desperately to help those Root kids as much as possible.

“Yes. I’ve spent a lot of my time lately running around the Jounin station and… every time I see those kids I just can’t help but feel like they need help.” She said sadly. Her hand clenched softly. Sarutobi took another long drag of his pipe.

“How about,” He said, and Sakura looked up, hopeful, “You try out for the upcoming Jounin exams, pass them, and sign up for the official roster. Three of those kids have already been practically adopted, but no one else can step up to the plate for varying reasons, including the lack of manpower. The village could always use another level-headed Jounin.” Sarutobi offered. Sakura held her breath with joy. This was better than what she’d hoped for.

“I will,” She said with conviction. And she would. If she could do this, become Jounin… so many doors would open for her. It was a rank she had never attained in her previous life, and had never had time to dream of, “Thank you,” She said, truly grateful. Sarutobi excused her from his office, turning to look at the portraits lining the walls.

"They grow up too fast nowadays, Hashirama-sensei.” Sarutobi said to himself, “She's only a child, but look at her doing an adult's job. Too few adults who would risk their life for a child and too many children risking their lives for adults."

...

"You what?!" Shisui shouted. Sakura frowned at her brother's outburst and quieted him down. Hikaru and Homaru looked at her with twin expressions of hurt and Itachi just looked slightly amused.

"I resigned from Anbu, you know, the place you didn't want me in in the first place. I have my jounin exam coming up soon and while Itachi here is working with clan politics and you're in the Root archives I have work to do." Sakura said. Homaru lowered his head.

"So you're leaving Team 3 then? Well I guess this is as good a time as any to say I resigned as well." Homaru admitted. Hikaru's head snapped to the pale haired boy who sat hunched over his glass.

"Wait, so that just leaves Kakashi then. I've been pulled from Anbu as well. I have to take up duties closer to home cause of my branch member status." Hikaru grumbled, more relieved than upset. Sakura smiled softly. She was glad that he boys would be safer in her absence.

"Yeah, I've taken up a job at the hospital for now, but I'm still a Chuunin on call." Homaru said. Shisui threw a look at each of them before narrowing his eyes at Sakura again.

"Okay, why are you dropping out of Anbu? These two have reasons but you just seem like you're doing it for shits and giggles." Shisui said. Sakura grinned.

"I want to take on a student," Sakura said, waiting for the bomb to drop. Hikaru blinked confusedly, Homaru gaped, Shisui scratched his head as if trying to figure out if she was using code and even Itachi was hiding a snicker.

“Wait, you’re _fourteen_ , not much older than most academy graduates and now you want to _train_ someone?” Shisui asked. Sakura nodded and sipped at her drink.

“I figure since we’re partly the reason those kids don’t have a home – and yes yes I know they are far better off than they were – I’ve been wanting to do something to help. I thought I could take on one of them fulltime. The Jounin have their hands full, and now that things are calming down I don’t. It seemed like the best choice,” Sakura said. Homaru smiled brightly, and even Hikaru seemed proud of her. Itachi already knew half of it, so he just nodded in agreement. Shisui looked surprised, but happy as well.

“That’s actually great Sakura. I think you’d make a great mentor,” He said. Sakura slammed her palm over his on the table.

“I’m glad you say that aniki, because I’m actually planning on moving out too. Your faith in my decisions is always so reassuring. In fact, I trust you so much that I knew you’d support me in this! I have an apartment I wanted to show you all lined up. Nothing big you know, just big enough for me and the kid I’ll look after…” Sakura said, launching in an excited diatribe. Shisui couldn’t even get a word in edgewise, which was precisely what Sakura was trying to achieve. If he couldn’t object he couldn’t stop her from going through with her plans.

Homaru, Hikaru and Itachi left them to it.

There were a lot of requirements to become a jounin.

Sakura ticked every box.

When the examiners had first seen her they had scoffed, prepared to put little fails in every part of her assessment (of course, had they been _internal_ examiners, they would have known otherwise). They had been thoroughly corrected a few short minutes later. Sakura was a demon on the battlefield, showing her near-mastery of futon and katon jutsus in a dazzling display of pyrotechnics. She then proceeded to wipe the floor with every opponent given up for sacrifice. They never lasted more than a few minutes, if they were lucky. Her strength gave her the intimidation factor of the ex-Slug Princess herself and the examiners found themselves commending her skills.

She proved herself more than capable of leading a team, having played pseudo-squad-captain whenever Kakashi was incapacitated (which happened a lot) and her strategical brain figured out the solution to whatever problem they threw at her within seconds.

She passed the exam with flying colours and donned her Jounin jacket soon afterwards. The first thing she did was go and tell Kurenai about her promotion and the woman had squealed with her, Genma inviting her out to the initiation drinking party which Shisui had said an absolute ‘no’ to. If she wanted to get drunk to celebrate she could do it at home. To be fair, she didn’t trust Genma much either. Then she had proceeded to rub the fact in Shisui's face before jokingly telling Sasuke that he may end up on a squad with her as his leader.

Sasuke had said that he’d gladly take her offer.

Sakura had quickly signed up on the roster for the Root kids, and after talking to the medic-in-charge heading the rehabilitation program Sakura was given clearance to try her best to look after one of them.

“He’s very quiet, but most of them are. Unlike the others he seems to have a hobby. He draws a lot, and carries a picture book around. None of us have seen what’s in it.” A nurse explained, leading Sakura to the boy’s room. Sai’s room.

She knocked softly and a tiny ‘yes’ sounded from inside. The nurse smiled at Sakura.

“Ah, Sai-kun, there’s someone here to see you. Could she come in?” The nurse asked. There was a beat of silence before the door opened. Sai’s face was illuminated by the light in the hallway, but behind him was darkness. He examined Sakura carefully.

“Uchiha Sakura, 14 years old. Loyalty, Konoha; Speciality, Genjutsu, Medical Ninjutsu; Designation, Flee on Sight; Bounty, five hundred thousand ryo.” He said softly. Sakura blinked. He had perfectly rattled off exactly what was printed in a standard issue Bingo Book. Well, from what she remembered her bounty was a bit lower than that but it had been a while since she’d last checked officially. It must have been raised without her noticing.

“That was impressive,” Sakura said, holding out her hand, “No need to introduce myself then. You can call me Sakura if you’d like,” Sakura offered. Sai didn’t shake her hand, but instead bowed his head slightly. She knew he yielded more to authority and ability than niceties, so she took it as a compliment. Hopefully it would change.

“I admire your style of work, Uchiha-san,” He answered instead, Sakura’s eye twitched, she felt old.

 “You were an exemplary senpai in Anbu.” He continued. Sakura sighed and put her hands on her hips. This was evidently going to be harder than she had hoped for.

“You’re a tough one ey. Oh well, nothing like exposure therapy. Come on then Sai, we’ve got to get you packed up. You’ll be living with me for a while anyway, so let’s drop your stuff home and then we can have lunch,” Sakura said, wondering how quickly Naruto could work on Sai. He’d had less years to put up walls than his counterpart from her past so she bet Naruto could complete his Therapy no Jutsu in record time.

“I will?” Sai asked, for the first time showing any kind of surprise.

“Yeah! You’ll love the place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> crappy ending i know it just wouldn't split nicely anywhere else forgive me. next chapter is cutesy i promise (but also short)


End file.
